Ashes 2021-22 | Will Pucovski ruled out of Sheffield Shield game, unlikely for first Ashes Test

The Ashes series between Australia and England is scheduled to commence from December 8 in Brisbane. Australia have suffered a major blow, as Will Pucovski is set to miss the Gabba Test, as he is yet to recover from the concussion he sustained last month.

"It's no doubt a setback. I'd say now it's unlikely he will play in the first Test. All the people in these conversations understand we have an immense talent on our hands. We want him playing in three, five, 10 years so these are the decisions we are going make in his best interests and hopefully we can set him up to have a long career,” he stated.

Now, with little practice under his belt and the concussion blow, Rogers said that it'd be difficult for the youngster to perform against a quality opponent like England.

"No doubt there's a lot of frustration for him, he wants to be playing," said Rogers. "It's an interesting one as well, he hasn't played for seven months so to walk straight back into the caldron and perform against very good opposition that's going to be really difficult. The decision is to look after him and allow him a bit more time to prepare in the right way rather than rush him into matches that will have a lot of intensity and scrutiny.

Pucovski’s absence puts Marcus Harris in strong contention to open alongside David Warner in the Brisbane Test. Usman Khawaja and Travis Head too, will be part of the mix.