Mitchell Starc and Cameron Greenย have both had their home summer come to an abrupt end, and will now race the clock to be fit for the opening clash of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Nagpur on February 9.
Regarded as Australia's toughest test abroad, the four-Test tour of India comes hot on the heels of the home summer, with the series to visit Nagpur, Delhi, Dharamsala and Ahmedabad.
Green, who is virtually irreplaceable, particularly in sub-continent conditions where Australia would ideally elect to run with two spinners, has suffered a fractured finger, and Cricket Australia has confirmed he will undergo surgery.
Cricket.com.au are reporting that his return timeline could be around four weeks though, setting him up for a week of training before the first Test against India in a much-needed boost for the touring party.
The all-rounder's return for the first Test could come with a blow though, with Starc racing the clock.
The New South Welshman confirmed Green is likely to return before him, with tendons in his bowling hand likely taking longer to recover after he bowled through the pain barrier in the second Test against South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
It's understood Starc could be looking at closer to six weeks, which would likely rule him out of the first Test against India.
His raw pace, aggression and ability to extract reverse swing in the sub-continent make him a danger, however, Australia has options to cover, with Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins all expected to be available for the first Test, pending fitness between now and then.
"India's the next big tour and we'll see where the timeframe is with that. It's my bowling hand so I've got to be pretty careful and make sure it heals properly," Starc told cricket.com.au.
"The irony is (Green) will be back before I am. Bones are a bit quicker in the healing process, the tendon is a little bit different. I think we'll both be seeing the same specialist.
"I still think everyone's confident it will be more front-end (than back-end of the India tour that Starc will be right for). It will obviously depend on how it heals and how quickly it can do what it needs to do."
India only has limited overs fixtures between now and when they host Australia, with their last Test cricket coming in the form of a 2-0 victory away from home over Bangladesh.
