New Zealand seamer Matt Henry's return to Somerset has been indefinitely delayed as he recovers from injury.
The 33-year-old had been due to join the county on 7 April and be available to play for 11 weeks, but the club say he is undergoing a "phased rehabilitation programme" with the New Zealand medical team.
Henry suffered a shoulder injury during the Champions Trophy semi-final win against South Africa last month and has also been managing an ongoing knee issue that ruled him out of the one-day international series against Pakistan
"Obviously, this is frustrating news for Matt as well as our Somerset members and supporters who we know were looking forward to seeing Matt in the club colours again in April," said Andy Hurry, Somerset director of cricket.
"Matt's health, fitness and wellbeing are everyone's priority, and we will continue to connect and collaborate with all parties over the next few weeks.
"We are all working towards seeing Matt at the Cooper Associates County Ground in 2025, and as soon as we have any further updates we will let our members and supporters know."
Somerset had said prior to the County Championship season beginning that the club hoped to have Henry available for the second match of the campaign against Sussex.
Henry, who has also had stints in England with Worcestershire, Derbyshire and Kent, finished the recent Champions Trophy as the competitions highest wicket taker, to take his tally to 312 wickets in 142 matches across all formats for his country.
He last played with Somerset during 2023, finishing the T20 Blast as their leading wicket-taker and also claiming 32 wickets in six County Championship matches.
