‘Big blow’: Cam Green learns full extent of injury as ‘unique’ issue floors Aussie

The full extent of Cameron Green‘s back injury has been revealed, with Cricket Australia explaining the all-rounder has a “unique defect” that requires surgery and will rule him out of the entire summer of cricket. Green was widely expected to miss the five-Test series against India that gets underway at Perth’s Optus Stadium on November 22 after reporting lower back pain during September’s tour of the UK.

But after confirmation on Monday that he’ll miss the entire Border-Gavaskar series against India, Green also looks set to be ruled out of Australia’s Test tour of Sri Lanka in February and the ICC Champions Trophy tournament. That’s due to the fact the 25-year-old has opted to go under the knife to fix his ongoing back issues, meaning he faces an expected recovery time of six months – also putting his participation in the Indian Premier League at risk.

Green played for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL this year after previously featuring for the Mumbai Indians, who he signed for in a then-record $3.15 million deal in 2022. But his latest injury setback and lengthy recovery time leaves his IPL future hanging in the balance, with a statement from CA saying he had a “unique defect in an adjacent area to the fracture that is believed to be contributing to the injury.”

Stress fractures in the back are more common for fast bowlers and Green has spent the last week weighing up whether or not to have the same type of surgery as fellow Aussie quicks James Pattinson and Jason Behrendorff, plus India spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. There was a possibility that Green could have forgone surgery and focused on a return as a specialist batter for the India Test series.

Ultimately though, Green and CA have prioritised his long-term future as an all-rounder by booking him in for surgery right away. Nevertheless, the 25-year-old’s absence is a big blow to an Aussie Test side that’s lost its past two home series against India, leaving selectors will some big decisions to make around reconfiguring Australia’s XI.

Aussie Test XI set for a reshuffle after Cam Green’s injury

Steve Smith is widely expected to replace Green at No.4 in the Aussie batting order, moving back to the position where he’s had the most success in his career. Aussie selectors decided to elevate Smith to opener after the retirement of David Warner in January but the experiment has not really worked out and the Aussies could look to a new partner for Usman Khawaja at the top of the order.

Former Test captain Mark Taylor has tipped Cameron Bancroft to earn a recall after being the leading scorer in the Sheffield Shield for the past two seasons. However, Taylor says he would also not be shocked to see young NSW prodigy Sam Konstas receive a Test call-up after the 19-year-old became the youngest player since Ricky Ponting to hit twin centuries in the one Sheffield Shield match last week.

Both men are set to feature for Australia A against India A in upcoming matches, as well as fringe Test star Marcus Harris, who is another strong candidate to partner Khawaja. But Green’s injury also presents selectors with another headache around their bowling attack. Fellow all-rounder and incumbent No.6 Mitch Marsh has hardly bowled in recent matches and did not feature with the ball at all in Western Australia’s recent Shield match against Queensland.

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With Green out and question marks around Marsh’s bowling workload, it could place a massive strain on Australia’s key pace trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. The likes of Scott Boland and Michael Neser are expected to be part of the extended squad and would likely feature if player rotation forms part of Australia’s strategy over the five Test series. Uncapped pair Aaron Hardie and Beau Webster would be like-for-like replacements for Green if Australia decided to bring in another all-rounder.