Cricketer faces 'long road to recovery' with surgery scheduled after suffering serious injury in final
Carrickfergus Cricket Club have said former Ireland international Ryan Eagleson “has begun what will be a long road to recovery” and confirmed he’ll undergo surgery on Thursday after sustaining a serious injury during Sunday’s LVS T20 Trophy final.
The weekend decider, which was the first match of two scheduled on NCU T20 Finals Day, was halted 10 balls into Armagh’s chase of 124 for victory at The Lawn after Eagleson was injured in the outfield.
Play was immediately stopped as Eagleson received medical attention with an ambulance called to the venue.
The match will now resume from where it was left off at the same ground at 6:30pm on Thursday evening with Armagh sitting on 8/0 from 1.4 overs with another 116 runs required to win.
Eagleson is a highly-respected figure in local cricket having collected almost 300 top flight wickets across the past 20 years for Carrick and also played 65 times for Ireland, picking up 70 wickets.
He is currently serving as Cricket Ireland's national pace bowling coach – a role he has held since 2022.
Eagleson will now undergo surgery on the injury sustained during Sunday’s final with Carrick clear he will “tackle this challenge with the same determination and resilience he has always shown on the cricket field”.
"On behalf of everyone at Carrickfergus Cricket Club, we wanted to provide an update on our player, Ryan Eagleson, following the serious injury he sustained during Sunday’s T20 Shield Final against Armagh,” the club posted. “Ryan has now begun what will be a long road to recovery and is due to undergo surgery on Thursday.
"Everyone at the club sends Ryan our very best wishes for a successful operation and a full recovery. We know he will tackle this challenge with the same determination and resilience he has always shown on the cricket field.
“Having spoken to Ryan today, both he and the club would like to express their heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped him during what was an incredibly difficult and distressing time.
"Ryan waited almost two hours for an ambulance while receiving treatment on the pitch and he is deeply grateful to all those who assisted, cared for and supported him throughout the ordeal.
“The club would also like to thank everyone who has been in touch with messages of support, as well as all our members, supporters and the wider cricket community for the kindness shown to Ryan and to Carrickfergus Cricket Club on Sunday and since.
"The outpouring of support has been truly appreciated by Ryan, his family and everyone at the club.
“We all wish Ryan every success with his operation on Thursday and look forward to seeing him back around the club when the time is right.”