October 16, 2024: Australian all-rounder Cameron Green is heading to Christchurch for surgery after experiencing back issues during the white-ball series against England in September. This procedure will unfortunately keep him out of the entire Test summer, including the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India, which begins on November 22.
In an Instagram post, Green expressed his disappointment at missing this crucial and potentially career-defining Test season, stating, “En route to Christchurch thanks for all the kind messages this past week. Heartbroken but let’s get a new back.”
The surgery is expected to have a recovery time of around six months, meaning Green will also miss Australia’s Test tour of Sri Lanka in February and potentially the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan. Furthermore, his recovery timeline could impact his participation in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
Green reported lower back pain during Australia’s tour of the UK in September, leading to scans that revealed a stress fracture. Stress fractures are common among fast bowlers; however, Cricket Australia noted that Green has a “unique defect in an adjacent area to the fracture,” which is believed to contribute to his injury. As a result, it was decided that surgery was necessary to stabilize the defect and reduce the risk of future issues.
This isn’t the first time Green has faced such challenges, as he previously suffered four stress fractures in his lower back, a recurring injury that has plagued him since his junior days up to 2019, the year before his Test debut.
The surgery, performed by New Zealand surgeons Grahame Inglis and Rowan Schouten, has been carried out on 26 patients over the last two decades, with 24 successfully returning to fitness. Examples of other players who have undergone similar surgeries include Jason Behrendorff, who was sidelined for ten years following his procedure, and Ben Dwarshuis, who returned after ten months. James Pattinson took 12 months to return to first-class cricket after surgery and 22 months before playing Test cricket again for Australia.
