Pakistan's World Cup hopes are set to be in jeopardy with leading seamer Naseem Shah likely to be ruled out with a shoulder injury for the entire duration of the tournament which will be held in India from October 5 to November 19, 2023.

An ESPNCricinfo report claims that Naseem underwent scans in Dubai after being ruled out of the Asia Cup 2023, and the results suggest that the injury is much worse than thought of. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is reportedly seeking a second opinion on the 20-year-old, who is likely to be ruled out for rest of the year if secondary results confirm the initial ones.

Naseem could miss the World Cup, the tour of Australia and even the Pakistan Super League, due to the seriousness of the injury.

The pacer injured his shoulder while playing against India on the reserve day of their Super-4 clash in Colombo, and had to walk off in the 46th over of India's innings. He did not turn out to bat as Pakistan were bowled out for 128, to lose by 228 runs against their rivals.

He had previously hurt the same shoulder while playing against Bangladesh in the Super 4s, though that injury wasn't serious enough to keep him out of the India clash.

PCB is likely to make a decision on Naseem once the secondary results are out. He was replaced by Zaman Khan for the remainder of the Asia Cup, as Pakistan crashed out finishing last in the Super 4s.

Pakistan are yet to announce their 15-member World Cup squad, though they have time till September 28 to make a call on the speedster's availability.

(ESPNCRICINFO INPUTS)