Australia all-rounder Cameron Green will undergo surgery for a stress fracture in his lumbar spine. As a result, he won’t be able to feature in the upcoming five-Test series against India.
The injury is a major blow to Australia’s hopes of beating a strong Indian team, which has won the last two Test series Down Under.
“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,” an Australian team spokesperson said in a statement.
Green was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his lower back during the ODI series in England last month, sparking speculation about his availability for the India Tests.
The alternative was to rehabilitate without surgery and have Cameron Green as a specialist batter in the India series. However, his condition was more complex, making surgery preferable.
“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,” said the spokesperson.
“After thorough consultation it was determined Cameron would benefit from the surgery to stabilise the defect and reduce the risk of future recurrence.”
Cameron Green’s absence will force Australia to alter the batting order for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with veteran campaigner Steve Smith set to return to N. 4 position after a short stint as an opener.
Following the retirement of David Warner from Test cricket earlier this year, Smith expressed his desire to open the batting in the longest format and his wish was granted by the team management in the home series against the West Indies.
While Smith registered scores of 12, 11* and 6 in his first three innings, he returned with an unbeaten knock of 91 in the second innings of the Gabba Test to nearly take Australia over the line.
In the subsequent away series against New Zealand, Smith amassed only 51 runs in two Tests with the best score of 31.
Australian Chair of Selectors George Bailey confirmed that captain Pat Cummins and head coach Andrew McDonald have decided to bring back Steve Smith to No. 4.
"Pat (Cummins), Andrew (McDonald)and Steve Smith had been having ongoing conversations, separate to the untimely injury to Cameron (Green)," Bailey was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
"Steve had expressed a desire to move back down from that opening position, and Pat and Andrew have confirmed that he will be dropping back down the order for the summer."
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is slated to get underway on November 22 in Perth and the action will then shift to Adelaide (December 6-10), where both teams will face each other in a Day-Night Test. The last three Tests are set to take place in Brisbane (December 14-18), Melbourne (December 26-30), and Sydney (January 3-7).
(With Reuters/PTI Inputs)
