Australian all-rounder Cameron Green has been ruled out of bowling for next week's first Test against India in Nagpur.
Having nursed a broken finger since the Boxing Day Test late last year, Green has been placed on the sidelines as Australia began to turn their attention to their trip abroad.
With the first Test just 10 days away, a crucial call on Green's selection - where he could miss the first Test or be utilised as a specialist bat - now looms.
The 23-year-old has been a mainstay for Australia at the No.6 spot across the past two years, scoring six half-centuries for an average of 35.04 at Test level from his 26 innings with the willow.
His ability with the ball has added to an already-lethal Australian bowling attack, which could now be forced into a drastic shift.
Australian coach Andrew McDonald revealed Green's "greatest challenge" has been building his workloads with the ball-in-hand, with the developing all-rounder still facing some time before being deemed able to bowl.
“It probably (would have been) more likely if Cameron Green was fit and available fully with the bowling side of things. That's not realistic, so I think it's probably further away than it would have been had Cameron been fit,” McDonald told News Corp.
“Where he's positioned at the moment, his biggest challenge is bowling. There is a lack of loading there, and it's one of the key reasons around us getting into this camp and this mode early is to make sure that we're ready to go for the rigours of what the bowling unit is going (to face).
“His bowling will be his greatest challenge. He's got to consult with the surgeon again tomorrow and that's about the four-week mark – where he should be given a tick of approval that that bone has healed.
“After that it should be just building him up and see how he goes each session. Building confidence is the main thing.”
Green's absence with the ball may force Australia to be limited with their spin options for the first Test, with the touring nation's XI potentially dropping to two spinners instead of a likely preferred trio of spin options.
Veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon will lead the spin contingent for an opening Test that is touted to have a spin-favouring pitch, with his partner to be decided from a race of three candidates.
Ashton Agar was called on for the SCG Test earlier this month but failed to impress, seeing Queenslander Mitch Swepson and uncapped Victorian Todd Murphy enter the frame.
Should Green be ruled out of the Test altogether, his Sydney replacement Matt Renshaw looms as the leading option, while in-form middle-order batsman Peter Handscomb would also be in discussions after gaining a reprieve into the Australian squad.
Australia are already without paceman Mitchell Starc for the opening Test in Nagpur on February 9, with fringe fast bowling options Scott Boland and Lance Morris in contention for a spot given Green's persistent ailment.
