Cameron Green will undergo back surgery and miss the entire Test summer in a big blow to Australia’s hopes of victory in the five-match series against India.
Cricket Australia confirmed the allrounder would need around six months to recover from this week’s procedure, meaning he will also be unavailable for the Test tour of Sri Lanka beginning in January.
Green was diagnosed with a stress fracture of the lumbar spine after reporting lower back pain on the recent white-ball tour of the UK, with follow-up scans revealing an additional problem.
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“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 Cricket Australia statement read.
On return from the UK, Green spent more than a week holding meetings and deliberating whether to undergo surgery or begin rehabilitation.
While rehab would have given Green the chance to return later in the summer, that option came with higher risk of re-injury, especially given the 25-year-old’s long history of back issues.
In recent years, Jason Behrendorff and James Pattinson have been among other Australian representative fast-bowlers to bounce back from surgery on similarly serious lower back injuries.
“The decision to proceed to surgery is with Cameron’s long-term future as an allrounder in mind,” CA’s statement read.
“After thorough consultation it was determined Cameron would benefit from the surgery to stabilise the defect and reduce the risk of future recurrence.”
The surgery means Australia will be without their first-choice allrounder as they look to bounce back from their last two home Test series losses against India.
Chief selector George Bailey is expected to address CA’s plans to replace Green for the Test summer when he fronts the press on Monday afternoon.
Any one of opening batters Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Harris or Cameron Bancroft could come into the side if selectors decide to push Steve Smith down the order to replace Green at No.4.
In that case, Australia would miss Green’s ability to act as a fourth pace option as the big-three quicks prepare for a heavy workload playing all five home Tests this summer.
Fellow allrounder Mitch Marsh has been used sparingly for his medium pace since returning to the Test set-up in 2023, but spinner Nathan Lyon has already indicated he would be prepared to take on extra work in Green’s absence.
Aaron Hardie and Beau Webster are among like-for-like options if selectors decide to replace Green with an allrounder, though neither has played Test cricket before.
Along with the two upcoming Test series, Green is not expected to be fit for the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan that begins in February.
It is not yet known whether he could be available for part of the Indian Premier League, where Green’s $3.15m contract in 2022 made him at the time the highest-paid Australian in competition history.