Australian coach Matthew Mott is blaming himself for the rogue ball that broke top-order superstar Beth Mooney's jaw on the eve of the Women's Ashes.
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The world's best T20 batter was struck in the face at training on Monday, and is now likely to miss the Ashes after going in for surgery on Tuesday.
Her participation at the March World Cup in New Zealand is also now in jeopardy although Mott was confident the 28-year-old Queenslander would recover swiftly.
It's a frustrating blow for Mooney and Australian selectors, with the first of three Ashes T20 matches to be played on Thursday at the Adelaide Oval.
"The good news is that our doctors are pretty positive that the way the jaw surgeries are working these days, the comeback time is a bit shorter," Mott said.
"She's in good spirits, she's got a bit to get through today but hopefully she can get through that surgery well and we can find out when she can re-enter the group.
"We'll listen to the surgeons, they're the experts and they'll be able to give us the exact time when she should re-enter. She's an incredibly tough character, the ball hit her quite hard yesterday, her reaction was quite stoic, All she just asked for was a bit of water.
"She's got a good pain tolerance and she's a good fighter so hopefully she gets back there pretty quickly."
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The untimely injury almost certainly robs Canberrans of the chance to see Mooney up close at Manuka Oval next week during the four-day Ashes Test in the capital.
Mooney has taken a liking to Manuka over the years, blasting a T20 century at the venue against England in 2017.
"It's very disappointing for her, poor timing, I think she's had a good break out of the game and she was hitting the ball very well," Mott said.
"It's one of those rogue incidents that can happen when you're throwing cricket balls.
"I've probably thrown 150 of those to her over the last couple of years that she pulled for four. For whatever reason it got through."