Victorian batter Tom Jackson facing stint on sidelines after partial ACL tear

Jackson, 20, suffered the injury in the field while on duty with Victoria's second XI against New South Wales metro this past week, failing to finish the game.

Geelong coach Nick Speak told The Standard Jackson met with doctors on Friday and would likely be out until after Christmas.

"It's really unfortunate for him because they didn't play any cricket last year in the second XI space and he really needs to get on the park," Speak said. "His form is good. He played really well in the practice games by all accounts.

"It's an opportunity but Tommy just hasn't had it yet. (Nirranda export) Brody (Couch) had his opportunity in the Marsh One-Day Cup towards the end of last season and it's just circumstances." Speak said the balance of the Victorian side meant Jackson was forced to be patient. "From a bowling point of view, it's changed a lot in the last couple of years with (Peter) Siddle and (Chris) Tremaine leaving that group," he said.

"It's a younger bowling group now so there's a bit more opportunity there.

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"Jacko is a bit queued up. There's a bit of a queue on the batting spots."

Speak said Jackson, who burst onto the scene at Woodford as a youngster, needed to prioritise recovery in a bid to return to the field as soon as possible.

"He just needs to manage his injury, which is unfortunate. He's just got to rest now and do what he needs to do rehab-wise to get ready to play after Christmas," he said.

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