 "Australia all-rounder Cameron Green in action during the fourth Test of the Ashes series in 2023. Reuters")
Australia have suffered a significant blow ahead of their marquee Border-Gavaskar Test series against India in November as a back injury could rule star all-rounder Cameron Green out of the entire home summer.
Australian media had reported on Tuesday that Green would play the India-Australia series as a complete batter, although it remained possible that he would begin bowling during the final phase of the series. But now it emerges that he can miss the series as well. Green had suffered the back injury during Australia’s limited-overs tour of England in September. He complained of a sore back after the third ODI of the five-match series and was ruled out of the remainder of the series.
‘No chance’ of being match-fit for first India Test
As per a report in cricketetal.com, Green has “no chance” of being match-fit for the first Test against India that starts in Perth from 22 November, and that his injury has become worse than expected. “He has no chance of being ready for the first Test against India on November 22 in Pert h and it is not sounding good for any time soon after that. He may not play this summer,” said the report.
There was hope till Tuesday that Green would feature in the Australia squad as he would be able to bat, if not bowl, during the home season. Peter Brukner, a former Australian team doctor, had spoken on similar lines regarding Green’s injury.
“The load comes mainly from bowling—batting and fielding don’t put a huge load on that part of the body, so it’s feasible that once the pain settles down you can bat and field without too many problems and feel fine,” Brukner told The Age. “It’s just that if you were to bowl 10 overs, you’d probably break down again. So it’s a case of slowly building up the load so the bone basically adjusts to the load and gets stronger. There’s a bit of an art to it,” added Brukner.
Cameron Green to undergo surgery?
Another report, in ESPNCricinfo, has stated that the 25 year-old could undergo a surgery to treat his back injury. It is, however, only one of the several options that Cricket Australia’s high performance and medical team is working on.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe report adds that Green could miss the entire home season if he does undergo the surgery. However, if his road to recovery does not involve a surgery, he could still play for Australia but only as a batter.
There is no clear indication as to by when Green would be fit to play. Till date, Green has played 28 Tests for Australia, having scored 1377 runs that includes two centuries and six fifties. The right-arm medium pacer has also taken 35 wickets in the longest format.