The captain put everything on the line for his team in the second Test, but Joe Root is used to carrying England on his back.
The skipper was struck in the groin in the warm-up and his side was already facing defeat.
He missed more than an hour of the first session because he was in the hospital for a Scan.
With England batting to save the match, Root was struck with a 90mph delivery from Mitchell Starc.
England's slim hopes of escaping with a draw were shattered when Root was dismissed by Starc from the final ball of the day.
That might have hurt more than the double impact to a sensitive area, to a supreme batsman like Root.
There is more misery down under.
It could be forgiven for Root being sick of spending time in Australia.
He has not scored a century on his two previous tours, England have been beaten five times.
During the final Test of the 2017-18 series, Root was admitted to the hospital due to dehydration and vomiting.
The most bizarre incident was this one. Root was not fully protected in the nets from England's spin-bowling coach. The captain went to the hospital for an inspection after one nipped back.
Jonathan Agnew, a cricket correspondent for the British Broadcasting Corporation, said that you should wear padding.
It can still catch you all over the body, and it's the same hard ball being thrown at you.
After England lost Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc, Ben Stokes took over as captain and Joe Root took the other two.
England were set a fanciful 468 to win, or more than four sessions to survive, to earn a draw.
In the firing line again.
England were 48-2 when Malan was dismissed, and Joe Root was at his usual spot of number four.
It looked as if England's premier batters would stay overnight to battle into the fifth day.
In the last part of the day, Root suffered another injury.
Extra bounce resulted in a direct hit to an already tenderised area when left-armer Starc was bowling around the wicket.
"For any right-hand batter, facing the left-armer, knowing the angle will bring the ball back - that is going through your mind," said Agnew.
The Australians were aware of the severity of the situation.
"We were told to give him some space, so we kept away," said Head.
It's never pretty on that line. It wasn't a good time to get hit with the day he had.
Joe asked for an overhead camera to move so he could adjust his equipment.
The root took some pain killers. When he adjusted his protective equipment, he shooed away a TV camera that was hovering overhead, while substitute Craig Overton held up a towel to cover the skipper's modesty.
Despite being in such pain, and being unable to run between the wickets, Root decided to bat on.
Jon Lewis, England bowling coach, said that the character of the man made him walk off after being hit again.
He wants to show how hard he wants to fight.
It is possible that Root should have considered allowing himself to be replaced.
Agnew said that when you're captain, you want to carry on and not be seen to be hobbling off.
He might think that retiring hurt was a better option when the tears stop. In the heat of battle, he would have wanted to do his part.
The hardest blow.
Root was facing Starc again.
With some concern at the back of his mind, he might have thought that his footwork was not as good as it could have been, and he gave an edge to Carey.
It left England four down, with their best batter out, and staring at a second defeat of the series.
"It's no surprise he was one behind," said Agnew. He was in pain and couldn't run. It was a brave effort, but it means it's going to be a long day for Australia.
With his team scrambling to avoid another defeat, Root hobbled off, battered, bruised and dismissed.
Lewis said that he wanted to show people what he could do as captain of England. He wanted to show people that he is a great player and a great leader.
He showed a lot of character to fight, because I know he was sore.
Lewis said that the doctors and Joe were the only ones who could tell him about the condition of Root. I have not been looking at it myself.
