After head injury, Kaushal Silva could be released from hospital soon: SLC

Sri Lanka Cricket has said that Kaushal Silva is recovering well and could be discharged from hospital later today after the opening batsman was hit on the back of his head while fielding in a practice match at Pallekele.

The 29-year-old Silva was on Sunday airlifted to a Colombo hospital where initial scans ruled him out of danger. (Sri Lanka batsman Kaushal Silva suffers blow on the head, out of danger)

According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, SLC secretary Mohan de Silva was optimistic about Silva's speedy recovery.

"Kaushal appears to be okay now," de Silva was quoted by the website on Monday.

de Silva added that the batsman may be discharged from hospital today evening.

"They were to take another scan today, and depending on that, he may be discharged late this evening," he said.

Silva was fielding at short leg when he got hit on the back of his head by a Dinesh Chandimal sweep and even the additional padding on the helmet could not stop the ball from causing the damage.

The new helmets were introduced after the tragic death of Australian cricketer Philip Hughes in November 2014. The 25-year-old batsman died on November 27, two days after being hit on the head by a short delivery while playing for South Australia against New South Wales during a Sheffield Shield match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The two-day practice match was part of Sri Lanka's preparations for the upcoming England tour. Sri Lanka are scheduled to tour England next month for a three Test, five One-day international and a one-off Twenty20 series.

de Silva said Silva might be back on the cricket field within a week's time and is hopeful to tour with the team. However, he added that the board will wait for a couple of days to ascertain Silva's exact situation.

Silva, who has played 24 Tests, had hit a century on the first day of the practice match.