5 Feb 2016

Injury won't stop McClenaghan

11:45 am on 5 February 2016

Mitchell McClenaghan says he was lucky not to suffer more serious damage from the bouncer that put him in hospital.

New Zealand cricketer Mitchell McClenaghan.

New Zealand cricketer Mitchell McClenaghan. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

McClenaghan suffered a fractured eye socket after he was hit in the face while batting in the Black Caps' win over Pakistan at the Basin Reserve last week.

The 29-year-old, who'll be back bowling by next week, said the injury could've been a lot worse.

"It went very very close to going into my brain, had fragments in the sinus cavity so the two plates were put in place to reinforce the orbital bone," McClenaghan said.

While it was a terrifying incident, McClenaghan said he couldn't wait to get back out in the middle.

"The brain works in funny ways in terms of letting you do these kind of things but I'm pretty confident I'll be able to overcome them."

McClenaghan said he'll now reconsider which helmet he uses to prevent a similar sort of injury occuring again.