This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Australian cricketer Sean Abbott, whose tragic bouncer struck and killed batsman Phillip Hughes in 2014, has had another one of his deliveries strike a batsman on the helmet.

On this occasion Abbott’s rising ball hit 20-year-old Will Pucovski during a Sheffield Shield match on Sunday. The Victorian batsman was forced to retire after being struck on the helmet.

Pucovski fell to the floor after the blow and required treatment for a number of minutes before gingerly getting back to his feet and being helped off the pitch by medical staff.

Abbott was clearly impacted by the incident at Melbourne’s Junction Oval and took a number of minutes before he regained sufficient composure to bowl once again as Pucovski showed the effects of his injury.

A 2016 coroner’s inquest found that Hughes made a “minuscule misjudgement” before being hit in the neck by the delivery and Abbott was in no way to blame for the former Test batsman’s death.

It is not the first time Pucovski has suffered a head injury while at the crease. On his debut he suffered concussion after being hit in the head by a ball while fielding.

“Will Pucovski remained at the ground following the incident and is being treated by Cricket Victoria’s medical staff,” Cricket Victoria doctor Trefor James said.

“Will has been ruled out of the remainder of the match and we will continue to monitor him over the coming days, and we can then determine a return to play plan for him.”

Cricket Australia introduced concussion substitutions in domestic games following recommendations made by an independent investigation into the death of Hughes.