Less than 24 hours after Perth Scorchers announced Brydon Carse would be lining up in their BBL campaign the England all-rounder is heading home with a serious knee injury.
Carse tore the cartilage in his right knee during a practice match with England Lions on the Gold Coast.
He has been ruled out of the Lions tour of Australia and must be regarded as very doubtful for the Scorchers.
A statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board said Carse "will return to the UK in the coming days and will be seen by a knee consultant to advise on the next steps with the management of his injury."
He was due to meet up with Scorchers after Lions match with England A on 12 December. The BBL runs 5 December - 28 January.
Carse, a pace bowler and hard-hitting lower order bat, grew up in South Africa but is English-qualified through family and residency.
He made his England debut during the northern summer one-day international series against Pakistan and, as part of the Lions squad, was in Australia as cover for England's main Ashes party.
Upon signing for Perth, his first overseas T20 contract, Carse had said, "I'm hoping to create some match-winning performances with both bat and ball, I like to think I play my cricket with a smile on my face and enjoy it."
He is one of three overseas recruits the Scorchers have signed, the others being English T20 franchise specialist Laurie Evans and New Zealand's Colin Munro.
