A KNEE complaint is keeping Mark Murphy on ice as Brierly-Christ Church awaits scans to reveal the extent of the damage.
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The three-time Warrnambool and District Cricket Association cricketer of the year suffered the knock while diving for a catch in the Bulls' two-run loss to Dennington in round one.
Murphy told The Standard he was unsure of the severity and was on Friday awaiting his doctor's verdict after an MRI on Thursday.
"I smacked it on the ground and when I got up, it felt a bit stiff," he said.
"I kept playing, bowled and batted and it just seized up. I had pain behind my knee and couldn't move it the next day.
I smacked it on the ground and when I got up, it felt a bit stiff.
- Mark Murphy
"I'm just waiting to hear back. It depends which ligament has been affected. Sometimes you'll need an operation to fix it, other times it can just heal naturally. It depends."
The 28-year-old said a final diagnosis would help ease the mental challenges which stemmed from injuries.
"You're waiting to hear so you can set yourself either to come back or to do some rehab," Murphy said.
"I'm walking around fine but if I have a quick sideways movement or turn a corner it feels a bit unstable."
Bulls coach Kalon Wilkie said Murphy's absence opened the door for his middle order to make an impact.
He said Brierly-Christ Church was "way off" its best despite beating Merrivale this past week.
"We're probably playing at about 40 per cent at the moment," Wilkie said.
"We were nowhere near it against Dennington and 'Lovey' (Matt Love) held us together last week.
"We had them 6-40 but lost the plot a bit. We've probably been OK for 20 overs but that's far from ideal."
Wilkie said the Bulls needed to improve across the board. He said youngster Luke Wilson was being considered to open the batting with Love.
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