In a massive blow for New Zealand, an X-ray has confirmed an undisplaced fracture to captain Kane Williamson’s left thumb and he will be unavailable until the backend of the ongoing ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 in India.

Williamson was struck on his left thumb by an errant throw while attempting a quick single against Bangladesh in Chennai on Friday

The latest setback is not related to the knee injury that Williamson has battled in the recent past, but it will still keep the experienced captain on the sidelines in the short-term.

The 33-year-old Williamson will remain in the New Zealand World Cup squad with the aim of being available for the back end of pool play next month. Batter Tom Blundell will travel to India as cover but will not officially be part of the squad, while Williamson rehabilitates the injury.

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Coach Gary Stead was hopeful that Williamson will still have a role to play in their campaign.

“Firstly, we’re all feeling for Kane to have this occur after all his hard work to return from his knee injury. While it’s disappointing news, the initial diagnosis has given us some optimism he can still feature later in the pool play following a period of rest and rehabilitation,” Stead said.

“Kane is clearly a massive part of our side and a world class player and captain — so we’ll look to give him every opportunity we can to return in the tournament,” he added.

Stead also reposed his faith in Blundell, marking out his recent run in Asia.

“Tom’s been with the one-day side on tours to Pakistan and Bangladesh and performed well. He covers multiple positions in the batting order and his wicket-keeping skills are also an added bonus as a back-up,” the coach said.

New Zealand’s next match at the ODI World Cup comes against Afghanistan in Chennai on Wednesday.