Australia's Cameron Green.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Melbourne: Australia all-rounder Cameron Green was on Monday ruled out of the marquee Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series against India owing to a stress fracture in his spine that will need six months to heal after a surgery.
The 25-year-old seam-bowling all-rounder was diagnosed with the problem in his lower back after experiencing pain during last month's tour of the UK. Green has previously suffered four stress fractures in his back but has not encountered any issues in that area since 2019.
"Whilst spine stress fractures are not unusual in pace bowlers, Cam has a unique defect in an adjacent area to the fracture that is believed to be contributing to the injury," a CA statement said on Monday.
A six-month recovery time will mean Green misses not just the Border Gavaskar Trophy, but also February's Test tour of Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy. His participation in the IPL is also in doubt.
Green has decided to opt for a similar type of surgery undergone by several pacers including Jasprit Bumrah, James Pattinson, Jason Behrendorff, and Ben Dwarshuis.
"After thorough consultation it was determined Cameron would benefit from the surgery to stabilise the defect and reduce the risk of future recurrence," CA said.
The alternative to surgery would have involved rehabilitation and restricting his bowling during the five-match series against India, starting November 22 in Perth.
"The surgery has been performed successfully with elite pace bowlers in the past. Recovery time is anticipated to be around six-months.
"The decision to proceed to surgery is with Cameron’s long-term future as an all-rounder in mind," the statement added.
The operation will be performed by New Zealand surgeons Grahame Inglis and Rowan Schouten, which involves screws and titanium wire to bind vertebrae together, according to cricket.com.au. His absence would mean Australia will have to rejig their batting order.
Green had returned to the Test side following veteran opener David Warner's retirement earlier this year with Steve Smith being pushed to open the innings.
However, the veteran struggled at the top of the order and will drop back to his preferred number four position, which has been left vacant by Green.
The selectors will now keep an eye on Australia's A series against India where the likes of Cameron Bancroft, and teen prodigy Sam Konstas will vie for the now vacant opening spot.
Additionally, Australia will also have to find someone to bowl Green's overs.
Mitchell Marsh did not bowl in Western Australia's Sheffield Shield match against Queensland and hardly rolled his arm while captaining the white-ball teams over the winter.