Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) have confirmed that star batsman Chris Douglas has fractured his left thumb and will fly home by the end of the week.

The 19-year-old all-rounder has been released from a private hospital in Pretoria, South Africa where he underwent surgery for an injury that has put paid to his plans of being involved in next month's World Cup qualifiers.

Douglas injured his thumb taking a low catch in the covers during Bermuda's 71-run win over Northerns Cricket Club in Pretoria on Sunday and will be replaced by Somerset all-rounder Jacobi Robinson who is scheduled to depart for South Africa today.

"Christopher Douglas sustained an open fracture of the left thumb when taking a catch yesterday (Sunday) afternoon. He was taken immediately to hospital, his family was notified, and he was admitted for surgery," read a BCB statement.

"The injury will require that his thumb will be immobilised for a period of three to six weeks and therefore prevents him from competing in the tournament.

"The operation was successful and it is expected that he will be cleared to travel in the next three to five days to be able to return home.

"The coach (Gus Logie) and chairman of selectors (Lionel Thomas) requested that Jacobi Robinson leave Bermuda to join the squad as soon as possible. Jacobi is scheduled to depart Bermuda on Tuesday evening and will arrive in Johannesburg on Thursday morning.

"The inclusion of Jacobi in the competition will be subject to approval from the event technical committee which has been requested by the BCB and is expected to be received forthwith."

After enduring mixed fortunes at last year's Under-19 World Cup, Douglas burst onto the senior national scene by smashing a polished half-century against Chris Gayle's West Indies in Toronto and since then has never looked back.

The Warwick cricketer was one of the key cogs coach Gus Logie had been banking on to propel Bermuda to World Cup qualification.

"Sometimes you make plans and then things go awry. But that's the way life goes and you just have to make other plans," Logie told The Royal Gazette.

The Bermuda coach was among those who visited the injured Douglas in hospital yesterday before he was discharged.

"Chris is very disappointed because he really wanted to do well on this tour," said Logie. "But we can't dwell on the past because this is now another opportunity for someone else to step up."

Among those now expected to step into that breach are front line batsmen Fiqre Crockwell, Glenn Blakeney and Jekon Edness.

Crockwell scored 91 against a St.Vincent and Grenadine XI and averaged just under 30 runs during Bermuda's tour to the Caribbean earlier this year. The PHC cricketer stroked a team high 43 in Bermuda's win in Pretoria.

"There's no doubt young Crockwell (Fiqre) is making a strong claim for a position at the top of the order and we do have other options and will be looking at the combinations we have," Logie added.

Over the weekend Blakeney also marked his return from a shoulder and back injury with a solid 39 while Edness stroked an unbeaten 21 in the same match.

"I do believe we have the personnel here who can fill the breach and we are looking forward to them doing just that," Logie said. "If need be we could use others such as Jekon (Edness) or Glenn (Blakeney) at the top of the order."

Logie confirmed that pinch hitter Lionel Cann would continue to bat at number two and it now remains to be seen who will face the new ball with him at the top of the order.

"The plan has always been to start with Lionel for the restrictions in the field and we are going to continue with that," he said. "We just need someone to partner with Lionel and like I said before we do have options."

Bermuda's cricketers had the day off to rest yesterday but will return to training today ahead of Thursday's practice match against a High Performance Centre XI.

Left-arm spinner Dwayne Leverock and all-rounder Janeiro Tucker did not play in the team's opening warm-up match but are expected to be included in the line-up later this week.

Fast bowler George O'Brien jr also sat out Sunday's match against Northerns CC with the flu and according to Logie is making a "steady recovery".