Stars' Harper hit on head at training, hospitalised

Melbourne Stars wicketkeeper Sam Harper is spending the night in hospital after he was hit on the head by a ball while batting at training.

SAM HARPER.
SAM HARPER. Picture: Michael Dodge/Getty Images

Melbourne Stars BBL player Sam Harper is in hospital after he was hit by a ball at training.

"Sam Harper was struck in the head whilst batting at training this evening at the MCG and subsequently taken to hospital in a stable condition," the Stars posted on social media.

It's understood the wicketkeeper was cut in the chin/neck area by the ball and paramedics were called immediately.

Harper, 27, is expected to stay in hospital overnight and will undergo medical tests.

He was preparing for Saturday night's BBL home game against the Sydney Sixers at the MCG, which Harper will now miss.

The former Melbourne Renegades player has a history of concussions and was sidelined for several weeks in 2017 after South Australia's Jake Lehmann accidentally struck him in the head with his bat.

Haper spent almost a month in a dark hospital room afterwards and initially needed a walking frame.

The Victorian keeper called it "the worst three weeks" of his life.

In 2020, Harper was also hospitalised after he hit his head on the ground in a freak collision with Hobart Hurricanes player Nathan Ellis while playing for the Renegades.

Harper was hospitalised and became the first player to be subbed out of a BBL game.