Big Worries for Australia before Border Gavaskar Trophy

In what is bad news for the Australian cricket team, Cameron Green is set to miss the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy. The all-rounder will undergo lower spine surgery and will miss at least six months of cricket. He sustained his fifth stress fracture in his lower back.

The decision was made by Green after consultations with the Cricket Australia medical team, since he got his initial injury in the UK in September. He will follow the same recovery process that was followed by James Pattinson, Jason Behrendorff, Ben Dwarshuis, New Zealand pacers Shane Bond and Matt Henry, that is to have screws and a titanium cable fused into his lower back. It will stabilise the stress fracture and prevent any future issues.

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The recovery will take a minimum of nine months, but Cricket Australia feels that it could take six. Green will be missing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Sri Lanka tour and the Champions Trophy. He could make it in time for the IPL, the WTC final in June (if Australia qualify), and the Test tour of West Indies in June-July next year.

What Did Cricket Australia Say?

In the past, Green had four stress fractures in his lower back since his junior days. In a statement, the CA said, “Cam has a unique defect in an adjacent area to the fracture that is believed to be contributing to the injury.”

“After thorough consultation it was determined Cameron would benefit from the surgery to stabilise the defect and reduce the risk of future recurrence.”

In August, Green was cleared to bowl after a routine scan. He bowled 21.2 overs in the UK. It is being reported that there was no indication that Green’s body was vulnerable and his bowling load have been lower in the past.

According to ESPNcricinfo, the surgery which Green will have has been performed on 26 patients over the course of nearly two decades by New Zealand-based surgeons Grahame Inglis and Rowan Schouten. 24 patients have returned to full fitness, with only Kyle Jamieson’s being unsuccessful.