ABC apologises for 'insensitive' Phil Hughes tweet

The ABC has apologised after it was heavily criticised for a tweet about severely injured Australian cricket star Phil Hughes.

Hughes was critically injured when he was hit in the head by a bouncer while batting for South Australian against New South Wales in a Sheffield Shield game at the SCG yesterday.

The Twitter account for ABC News tweeted "Cricket NSW could not confirm if Phil Hughes was alive when he left the SCG" at 3.44pm".

The tweet drew immediate condemnation from Twitter users before being removed by the ABC.

Later yesterday afternoon ABC Grandstand, the ABC's sports department, issued an apology.

"Our earlier tweet about Phil Hughes' condition as he left the SCG was insensitive and we apologise for any distress it may have caused," the apology read.

Hughes has undergone surgery but the full extent of his injury will not be known for 24 to 48 hours.