The 30-year-old left-armer faces four to six weeks on the sidelines while he recovers and might require an operation. The opening test against South Africa begins in Dunedin on March 8, so Wagner will be pressed to be fit in time. He will also miss the remainder of Otago’s one-day campaign.
"If it is a quarter of a break, you don’t really need to get an operation," Wagner said.
"But because it is 50% it means possibly getting a pin in it."
He will find out today whether he will need surgery.
Wagner picked up the injury while attempting to field the ball off his own bowling.
Fellow Black Caps test player Jeet Raval hit the ball back towards Wagner and he thrust up his hand to stop the ball.
He immediately suspected he had broken his finger, having suffered a break last February while playing in the second test against Australia at Hagley Oval. However, he returned to bowl and helped Otago secured a much-needed 33-run win against Auckland which has kept its playoff prospects alive.
"I was pretty gutted when it happened. I just had a similar feeling and everything just sort of felt the same as last time."
The South African-born player is determined to play against his countrymen in his adopted home.
"I will do everything I can to be ready for that."
He conceded it would be touch and go, but is staying positive.
Wagner will be sorely missed if he is ruled out of the first test. His ability to run in hard and bowl a challenging length with the old ball has added real value.
He has taken 118 wickets in 29 tests, and in 2016 he took 41 wickets, at an average of 21.04.His absence extends Otago’s rotten luck with injuries. The team is already missing the services of Black Caps spinner Mark Craig and former international opener Hamish Rutherford, and pace bowler Warren Barnes is sidelined with a shoulder injury.
Also missing is Jacob Duffy, who has been sent to bowling boot camp. Jimmy Neesham and Neil Broom are on international duty.
Batsman Ryan Duffy will replace Wagner in the Otago side for its match against Wellington at the Basin Reserve tomorrow.
