South Australian opener Henry Hunt has suffered a suspected broken nose after being struck while fielding in the Marsh One-Day Cup clash with Victoria at Junction Oval.
Hunt had blood gushing from his nose after his attempted catch at mid-off from a Tom Rogers whack went horribly wrong on Thursday.
As Hunt was falling to ground, the flying ball slipped through his hands and struck him flush on the nose, with blood immediately gushing out.
Teammates rushed to Hunt's aid with Rogers also showing his concern.
After receiving on-field treatment, Hunt walked off with a towel covering his nose to contain the blood
The 27-year-old was taken to hospital to undergo scans and further assessments.
"As I saw it I started to run downstairs because it looked sickening," Redbacks coach Jason Gillespie said.
"You could see the concern on the lads' faces. That's a worry. First and foremost his health is the absolute priority.
"At the end of the day it's a game of cricket. Hopefully he'll be ok."
So much blood was spilt that the groundsman had to put sawdust over the grass.
"I hit it pretty hard and I don't know whether he touched it or not. Hopefully he's ok," Rogers said.
"Hopefully the scans come back clear for him because he's got a bright future.
"He's usually an absolute gun in the field. Maybe he tripped or something like that.
"But pretty scary, you never want to see something like that.
"He was talking and responding and all that stuff (after being hit).
"It's hard to know with concussion because it can come through late. But he's in the right hands now."
Former Australia Test star Gillespie was involved in a nasty fielding accident of his own when he and Steve Waugh collided in the outfield in a clash against Sri Lanka in 1999. Gillespie broke his leg while Waugh suffered a broken nose.
Hunt made just five off nine balls in South Australia's innings of 9-231, with Victoria sealing a three-wicket win with 35 balls to spare.
