Victorian batsman Will Pucovski will be forced to sit on the sidelines again, after it was confirmed he has been experiencing delayed concussion symptoms from a hit last month.
Pucovski was substituted out of Victoria's second XI game after he was forced to retire hurt following a bouncer which struck him on the helmet against South Australia in mid January.
Pucovski, who has played one Test for Australia, was opening the batting and had grinded out 43 off 101 balls when he missed a short ball from seamer David Grant.
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The 25-year-old initially carried on batting after consulting with medics, facing another four deliveries before retiring.
However, nearly two weeks on, Victoria coach Chris Rogers confirmed Pucovski won't take part in Victoria's next Sheffield Shield match against South Australia, set to begin on Saturday.
"He's unavailable, he experienced some delayed (concussion) symptoms after getting hit in the helmet in the 2nd XI game in Adelaide last week," Rogers said on SEN Radio on Thursday.
Despite suffering "only minor symptoms", Rogers said he and his team at Cricket Victoria won't be taking any risks, due to Pucovski's history of concussions.
"There were only minor symptoms, but I think everyone here at Cricket Victoria is making sure that we're doing the right thing and being conservative with our approach," he said.
"Usually, it's probably a seven-day approach for recovery for most people, but for Will, we've pushed it out to 12 (days)."
The concussion symptoms hit the young star when he returned from Adelaide.
"Everything seems pretty good … but when he got back home, there were a few fitness sessions where there was just a little bit of dizziness," Rogers said.
"The medical team have decided to take a conservative approach with it and we support that."
Rogers recounted the scary moment Pucovski was hit last month.
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"I was there, it's always a concern when he gets hit in a helmet," Rogers said.
However, teammate Nic Maddinson, who was at the crease with the 25-year-old at the time of the incident, said despite the hit, Pucovski's immediate responses were more positive than previously.
"Nic Maddinson was batting with him and Nic said to me later that Will was desperate to stay out there, he was keen to keep going and we haven't really seen that before," Rogers said.
"So that was the real positive. After that, he came off, he just said he felt ok, he went out and had a hit in the nets and said, he was ready to go."
Rogers said the short turnaround for this match was a defining factor for the medical team to leave Pucovski out.
"This game is just a little bit tight, but there are still some good signs … the kind of long-term thinking is that (he'll be okay), but he obviously still has a few symptoms.
"We want to make sure we're doing the right thing by him."
Victoria and South Australia's Sheffield Shield match begins on Saturday at the Junction Oval.
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