England bowler Kate Cross had to undergo an epidural to recover from a back injury and get fit for the Women's Ashes.
Cross, 33, bowled five balls in the third one-day international against South Africa on December 11 before leaving the field with the injury.
She missed the subsequent Test win over the Proteas and after a bowling session in Britain “didn't go well”, Cross was given the epidural – a painkilling injection into the spine, external – on Christmas Eve.
“It may take two to three weeks for the injection I received to really wear off. In my head I was just like, 'I'm going to stick a needle in my back and I'm going to fix this,'” Cross continued No Balls: The Cricket Podcast.
“The frustrating thing about this injury is that my back is structurally sound.
“There is nothing in there that suggests I should be in as much pain, discomfort or limited mobility as I am, and that frustrates the hell out of me.”
“The way the doctor described it to me was that if I hadn’t told them the symptoms, they wouldn’t have noticed it on the scan.”
The first one-day international of the multi-format series takes place on Sunday (23:30 GMT, Saturday) and Cross is now a serious doubt for that game.
The seamer was able to “bowl a bit” in the first few days after England arrived in Australia, but the recovery “is not progressing as quickly” as she would like.
“It's so unpredictable and I just have to talk to the physical therapist every day and say this is how I feel and this is how my movement is,” she said.
“We have to take it day by day, but under the time pressure of a series that starts on Sunday.”
