{
  "id": 17021799,
  "title": "Steve Smith Ruled Out Of South Africa Test With Neck Injury, Set To Return For Australia’s New Zealand Series In December",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/steve-smith-ruled-out-of-south-africa-test-with-neck-injury-set-to",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-29T06:20:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/sports/steve-smith-ruled-out-of-south-africa-test-with-neck-injury-set-to-return-for-australias-new-zealand-series-in-december"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Cricketer Steve Smith has been ruled out of the upcoming South Africa Test due to a neck injury and will return for Australia's Test series against New Zealand in December. The extent of Smith's injury, a cervical facet joint issue, was confirmed through scans following the second Test in Gqeberha where he first reported neck pain on the fourth day.",
  "summary": "Cape Town: Australian batter Steve Smith has sustained a cervical facet joint injury in his neck and will not be considered for selection untill the home Test series against New Zealand in December this year. Following Smith's ruling out from the series decider against South Africa at Cape Town, Cricket Australia has revealed the extent of the seriousness of his injury and set a timeline for his…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}