India batter Shreyas Iyer, who was ruled out of the ongoing ODI series against Australia due to recurring back injury, is likely to remain out of action for the next 4-5 months.

According to a report published in Time of India, Iyer is set to undergo surgery to treat his lower back injury issue. If he goes under surgery, then he will not be available for the entire IPL 2023 and will also miss the World Test Championship final against Australia, slated to be held at the Oval from June 7 to 11.

Shreyas Iyer’s absence will be a body blow to the IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders as he is their captain and a premier batter. He was roped in by KKR for INR 12.25 crore in the mega auction last year.

Initially, it was reported that Iyer could miss the first few matches of the IPL 2023 but now it is learnt that the middle-order batter will miss at least 4-5 months.

"Iyer has been advised to go for surgery. He is keen to get operated on by a specialist in London, but if there is a decent option in India, then the surgery could take place here also," a source told TOI.

Shreyas suffered a recurrence of a back injury during the recently held Ahmedabad Test against Australia. He didn’t come out to bat during the first inning due to a back problem.

Ahead of the start of the fifth day’s play, the BCCI issued a statement, “Shreyas Iyer will take no further part in this Test. A specialist opinion will be sought.”

After the Border-Gavaskar got over, India skipper Rohit Sharma provided an update on Iyer's injury and revealed that the scans didn't look good.

"Poor guy. It just was such an unfortunate incident. He had to wait all day to bat and then when the day got over, the issue he had with his back, recurred. He was sent to the hospital to take scans. I don't know the exact report of the scans, but he does not seem to be doing that well," Rohit told the reporters.

(With TOI Inputs)