Australia’s worst fears have been confirmed with news on Monday that Cameron Green will have back surgery this week, and likely sit on the sidelines for six months.
Last month, the 25-year-old returned from the white-ball tour of the United Kingdom early after sustaining a back injury during the third ODI against England in Chester-le-Street.
The extent of the injury was unknown at the time, but after returning home to undergo further assessment, Cricket Australia said a decision was made to rule him out for an extended period with his long-term future in mind.
A statement from CA on Monday revealed that Green has a stress fracture of his lumbar spine, adding that a “unique defect” near the fracture has made matters worse.
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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,” the statement says.
“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 has been performed successfully with elite pace bowlers in the past. Recovery time is anticipated to be around six-months.
“The decision to proceed to surgery is with Cameron’s long-term future as an all-rounder in mind.”
After being dropped during the 2023 Ashes campaign, Green returned to the Test side following David Warner’s retirement in January, scoring an unbeaten 174 against New Zealand in Wellington the following month.
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The all-rounder’s absence creates added intrigue surrounding Australia’s starting XI ahead of the first Test against India in late November.
If incumbent opener Steve Smith returns to his preferred No. 4 position as expected, it opens the door for national selectors to call upon a specialist opener, with Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris and Matthew Renshaw among the leading candidates.
Western Australia’s Bancroft has been the Sheffield Shield’s most consistent opener over the last couple of summers, but started his 2024/25 campaign with a golden duck against Queensland in Perth.
Meanwhile, Victoria’s Harris pressed his case for a national recall by cracking 143 on day one of the Sheffield Shield clash against Tasmania in Melbourne.
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Harris lost his national contract earlier this year, while Queensland’s Renshaw is the incumbent reserve batter having toured with the Test side to New Zealand earlier this year.
However, if national selectors wanted a like-for-like replacement for Green — someone who can provide assistance to Australia’s pace attack during the five-Test campaign — then all-rounder Aaron Hardie and Beau Webster come into contention.
Hardie, currently recovering from a quad injury, impressed during the recent United Kingdom tour, while he averages 40.45 with the bat and 28.53 with the ball at first-class level.
Meanwhile, Webster was the undisputed player of the Sheffield Shield last summer, accumulating 938 runs at 58.62 and 30 wickets at 29.30.
The need for an additional all-rounder rests heavily on whether Mitchell Marsh has the capacity to serve as Australia’s fifth bowler this summer. The West Australian has only bowled four overs in competitive cricket since he sustained a hamstring injury during the Indian Premier League in April.
The first Test between Australia and India gets underway at Perth Stadium on November 22.