Nevill has returned to Sydney, where he will undergo more scans and treatment after a freak accident behind the stumps on Monday night, when Brad Hodge's flying bat caught him flush in the face during the Renegades' win over the Strikers in Adelaide.

Scans so far have yet to show whether he has a hairline fracture to his jaw or has burst a blood vessel.

He won't play in Friday night's must-win clash in Brisbane against the Heat, but he has not ruled out returning for the finals next week, should the Gades' season still be alive.

Skipper Aaron Finch said he had never seen an incident like it.

"Until the swelling goes down a little bit, it's hard to tell the outcome of it. There is talk of maybe a fracture but, as I said, it's too big at the moment to really get a good idea of that," Finch said in Melbourne on Tuesday.

"It was pretty sickening when it happened. Because [it was] the handle of the bat, it made it pretty awful. It's one of those things – it's an absolute freak accident."

Nevill was following the trajectory of the ball into the outfield when the bat handle hit the right side of his face. Hodge had just changed his gloves and was facing fast bowler Thisara Perera.

"If you have brand new gloves, they have got like this powdery feel to it and it [the bat] just slipped straight out of my hands," Hodge said.

"I have never seen anything like it at all. I have seen things where bats have gone flying, but never hit anyone."

The incident completes a rugged season for Nevill. He required a concussion test against the Sydney Sixers last week when a return throw took an unexpected deviation, while earlier in the summer he was axed from the Test team after the heavy loss to South Africa in Hobart.

"He hasn't had a great time of it, but we know how hard he is. He will be back, no doubt, but it's just a case of making sure he gets right," Finch said.

Having held the Strikers to 8-165 in reply to their 9-171, the Gades must now beat the second-placed Heat and hope other results go their way to make the finals, where a derby clash possibly awaits.

They will need to find a replacement gloveman, although Finch could fill the role, having replaced Nevill for the final overs on Monday. That the Renegades rely so heavily on spinners Sunil Narine and Brad Hogg would suggest they need a specialist gloveman to handle potential stumpings.

"I felt comfortable until I missed a stumping off 'Suni'. When you are keeping to world-class spinners, it's always tough. If we can get someone else in at short notice, that would be ideal," Finch said.

There is also doubt over fast bowler James Pattinson, who left the field after bowling three overs. The Renegades said it was cramp, but the former Test spearhead has only just returned from a year battling back and shin stress injuries.

"I think he was just pretty tight – it was more precautionary," Finch said. "Obviously, coming back from a 10-month lay-off, there is going to be a few panicked times when something doesn't feel right in his body. I totally understand that, but hopefully we can get him up for the next game."

Pattinson has been expensive since his return in the second derby, and has been wicketless in his past three matches, but Finch said he was happy with his progression.

"He has, obviously, been expensive, and you can't hide away from that, and he knows that, but I think last night [Monday] he made them [Adelaide] play good shots," he said. "He still went at 10 an over. That's a result of having raw pace, good wickets, bowling with a new ball, and guys are taking you on at the start.

"I am really happy with how he has progressed. A couple of overs here and there got a little out of hand, but, again, that is Twenty20."