Glenn Maxwell lifts the lid on 'horrific' leg injury amid major Test development for allrounder

Aussie fan favourite Glenn Maxwell has revealed the pain he still feels when reliving his horror leg injury with Australian cricket coach Andrew McDonald suggesting the allrounder is in the frame to return to the Test team. Maxwell is releasing a book, titled The Showman, and revealed his desire to add to his seven Test matches having not played in the baggy green since 2017.

However, a horror leg break at a birthday party in 2022 seemingly ended his chances of returning to the Test arena with Maxwell looking to feature in on spinning wickets. Maxwell then missed a white-ball tour of South Africa after re-injuring his ankle at training.

The 36-year-old has not been in contention to play for Australia in the red-ball format since the accident having featured infrequently in the Sheffield Shield. And Maxwell has opened up about the horrific ordeal. Speaking about the incident, Maxwell claimed it took him a little bit of time to come to terms with the severity of the injury that could have left him struggling to walk.

"It is something I wish that didn't happen. It was pretty horrific. The next week or so after that, sort of finding out the extend of the damage, was quite a big shock," Maxwell told SEN Radio. "Yeah it was walking ending.

Potentially could have lost the foot, which is amazing. I didn't really think too much of it. A broken leg. I will recover...back running in three months. I'll be absolutely fine. I was so naive."

Maxwell spent months in recovery as he gave himself a goal to return to the Australian team. He has since played for Australia in the One Day International and T20 World Cups. But the Aussie admitted everyone was surprised at the speed of his recovery at the time of the injury.

"I think they were surprised that I was back running when I was. As soon as the injury happened, I got super focused on what I needed to do. I put my heart and soul into my rehab," Maxwell added. Despite his goal to play the Big Bash around 11 weeks later, Maxwell admitted he was naive again. However, Maxwell managed to make a return to the Sheffield Shield, before starring for Australia in the T20 World Cup.

Andrew McDonald backs Glenn Maxwell return

And in a surprising twist, Aussie Test coach Andrew McDonald has suggested Maxwell is in the frame for a return for the tour of Sri Lanka. Australia travel to Sri Lanka later this year after the series against India at home.

And McDonald has hinted Maxwell's ability to play on spinning wickets could be brought into consideration when selecting the squad. "I think if you looked at the last two Test matches in Pakistan (against England) and India, the ability to play on that horizontal plane sweeping and reverse sweeping, I think will be a critical skill if the conditions are extreme," McDonald said on Thursday. "Does he (Maxwell) fit that profile? 100 per cent he fits that profile.

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"The big challenge for 'Maxi' is clearly body and whether he can get through Test cricket, and what that may look like on the back of BBL. With 'Maxi', it's he plays, see how he pulls up and then make the next decision on the back of that injury that he had."

McDonald is looking at navigating a busy year as the Aussie Test coach and faces big calls on a team with 10 of the 11 Test incumbents aged 30 or older. But McDonald isn't worried with the age of the squad having cited stability as a key factor in the team's success.

"Our mindset is always about future proofing the team," McDonald said. "We've had opportunities in bilateral (white-ball) series to expose that next generation. Test cricket, it's been slightly different. We have been really settled and almost predictable in the way that we've gone about it.