Both David Warner and Sean Abbott have been ruled out of the Boxing Day Test against India with respective injuries. The pair will, however, rejoin the squad ahead of the third Test.
Warner has not yet fully recovered from a groin injury that he sustained in the ODI series against India, while Abbott has recovered from the calf strain he sustained during Australia A’s warm-up game against India.
“Warner and Abbott spent time in Sydney outside the team’s bio-secure hub to recover from injury. While neither player has been in a specific ‘hotspot’ as outlined by NSW Health, Cricket Australia’s bio-security protocols do not allow them to rejoin the squad in time for the Boxing Day Test,” a Cricket Australia release stated. “The pair travelled from Sydney to Melbourne to continue their rehabilitation given the changing public health situation in Sydney at the time.”
Warner and Abbott both flew ahead of schedule to Melbourne following a COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney.