Australia could be a bowler down for the remainder of the Gabba Test after Josh Hazlewood suffered calf soreness ahead of the fourth day's play and was only able to send down one over before leaving the field.
Hazlewood was late entering the field at the start of play and then looked laboured when he came into the attack, barely topping 131kph which included a wide long hop first ball that was cut away by KL Rahul.
During the drinks break which followed that over, Hazlewood was part of a lengthy conversation with Pat Cummins, Steven Smith and physio Nick Jones before he walked off the field.
"Josh Hazlewood reported calf awareness in this morning's warm-up," a CA spokesperson said. "He will be taken for scans to assess the injury."
Australia are trying to force victory between frequent rain delays in Brisbane and could now have to rely on Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon for the majority of the overs with support from Mitchell Marsh, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne.
The follow-on is their best chance of securing victory but that will put extra strain on Starc and Cummins should Hazlewood remain absent.
Hazlewood had returned to the side for this Test after a side strain ruled him out of Adelaide. Should his latest injury prove significant, it opens the door for Scott Boland to return to the side at the MCG on Boxing Day, the venue where he claimed a remarkable 6 for 7 on debut against England in 2021-22. Cummins had flagged the potential for Boland to play a further role in the series when he missed out in Brisbane.
"[We told him] it's about preparing for the MCG because there's a good chance we might need you," he said. "History suggests there's always some form of natural attrition throughout a Test series. A good thing [is], he's probably played a Test earlier in the series than he maybe thought. Showed that his standard's still super high. [It's] about trying to set him up for the last two Test matches."
Hazlewood previously suffered a mild calf strain earlier in the year which kept him out of the T20Is against Scotland and England.
Speaking between the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests, Hazlewood said the side problem had been a frustrating injury and the medical staff were still trying to come up with a long-term solution.
"It's not necessarily your typical side strain, which I've had a couple in my career," he said. "You're running into bowl and you just grab your hat and you're off and you're out for six weeks. It's not that sort of side strain. It's from sort of repetitive use. It's caused me a lot of trouble over the last few years, but [had] perfect prep this year, and played the Shield game and ticked all that off.
"I was very happy where I was and it still happened. So I was pretty annoyed there for a few days. There was plenty of meetings from CA's point of view [with] physios, doctors, all that stuff. So come up with a few options and see if we can stop it from happening again."