The Sydney Sixers' teen sensation Caoimhe Bray is facing a stint on the sidelines after the re-emergence of a stress fracture in her back.
Bray was on Wednesday ruled out of the Sixers' WBBL grand-final qualifier against Perth at North Sydney Oval, after scans showed a return of the stress injury.
The 16-year-old is expected to miss several months of cricket, likely ending her season with both NSW and the Sixers.
It comes after the multi-sports star also missed the end of last summer with the stress injury.
One of the most exciting prospects in Australian sport, Bray played as goalkeeper for the Young Matildas in 2024 before debuting for the Sixers months later.
The teenager then became the youngest player to take a hat-trick in any of the main women's T20 leagues, doing so against the Sydney Thunder last month.
But she was sent for scans this week, and they showed the re-emergence of the injury.
Regularly compared to Ellyse Perry given her ability across soccer and cricket, Bray has indicated she wants to play both sports for as long as possible.
"I have to commit myself to cricket for the summer part of the season, and when winter comes around, that's when soccer comes back," she said last month.
"So many people are asking the question will you still be playing soccer or still be playing cricket. People have their own opinions, like 'go into cricket, surely'.
"But so much can change. I have the three years signed with the Sixers, and so much can change over that period.
"If you don't know the future, neither do I. I don't know what it will be like in a few years. But I am going to try and stick to (doing both) as much as I can."
The winners of Thursday night's match face Hobart in Saturday's final at Bellerive Oval.
