Australia allrounder Cameron Green has opted to go under the knife for surgery on his back after scans found a “unique” issue that was exacerbating his back injury.
The surgery will rule him out of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series with India, with an expected recovery time of six months that also puts him out of February’s Test tour of Sri Lanka and the ICC Champions Trophy tournament, as well as casting doubt on his availability for the next Indian Premier League season.
Green reported lower back pain during September’s tour of the UK, with subsequent scans revealing a stress fracture.
While stress fractures are not uncommon in fast bowlers, a statement from Cricket Australia said Green had a “unique defect in an adjacent area to the fracture that is believed to be contributing to the injury”.
No further details on the nature of the “unique defect” were provided.
After a week of assessments and consultations, Green was left to weigh up the decision to have the same type of surgery that has resurrected and prolonged the career of numerous fast bowlers, including Aussie quicks James Pattinson, Jason Behrendorff and Ben Dwarshuis, as well as India’s Jasprit Bumrah.
Green faced the choice of option for surgery or pushing on with rehab that would have potentially allowed him to return as a batter only during the five-Test series against India.
That choice has now been made, and Green will undergo an operation, performed by pioneering Christchurch surgeons Grahame Inglis and Rowan Schouten, which involves screws and titanium wire to bind vertebrae together.
With the surgery to stabilise the defect and reduce the risk of future recurrence, Green now faces an expected six-month recovery timeline.
The knock-on effects of Green’s decision will be significant.
His absence from the No.4 spot could allow Steve Smith to move back to that position given selectors were already considering whether to keep him in the opening spot he took up last summer.
Cricket Australia will later today name an Australia A squad that is expected to feature the likes of Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft as well as teenage breakout Sheffield Shield star Sam Konstas, with selectors yet to decide if a new opener will be required.
Australia will also need to find the overs Green offered from somewhere. Mitch Marsh, the incumbent No.6, did not bowl in Western Australia’s Sheffield Shield match against Queensland, and hardly bowled himself while captaining Australia’s white-ball teams over the winter.
The stress fracture is Green’s first major injury concern since graduating to international cricket in 2020. As a teenager, Green had suffered multiple back stress fractures, but his rise to an all-format player had been a success story for Cricket Australia’s medical management.
A bigger consideration for him more recently had been the chronic kidney condition he has that forces him to monitor his diet closely and can lead to him suffering cramps.
In August, before his latest injury, he told cricket.com.au that a career as a specialist batter was something he would only look at well into the future.
“I’ve thought about it as an ‘in 10 years’ time’ sort of thing,” Green said when asked if he would consider giving away – or at least consider deprioritising – a bowling career that has so far netted him 35 Test wickets at 35.31.
“Down the track it’s definitely an option but at the moment I’m very happy to be a genuine allrounder.”
