Shreyas Iyer to take at least two to three months to return to competitive cricket

The Founder of Sports Science India, Dr. Sarthak Patnaik, has stated that the Indian middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer would require at least two to three months to return to competitive cricket after sustaining a spleen injury. 

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For the uninjured, Iyer sustained a serious injury to his spleen after landing on his left side while attempting to take a catch off Alex Carey in the recently concluded third ODI against Australia in Sydney. 

Later, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed, via an official media release, that the batter sustained an injury to his abdomen, resulting in a laceration of his spleen with internal bleeding. 

Though Iyer was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), he was later shifted out of it to a general ward and is now recovering well. Speaking exclusively to ANI, Sarthak made it clear that Iyer’s left rib cage and the ground faced direct contact, resulting in an injury.

"In the video of the catch, you could see direct contact injury to the left rib cage as he landed on the ground. The left rib cage is the junction of the bone and cartilage. Just below that is the spleen," he said.

"The minimal spleen injury results in slight internal bleeding due to which the patient has to take rest for 3 to 6 weeks and then they come back to the field. But when the spleen is badly injured, there is a lot of bleeding, then a surgical procedure is done in which the spleen has to be repaired or sometimes cut. So, in this condition, I think he has a spleen trauma due to which there is a minimal contusion or bleeding which they have kept under observation. Because of this, there is a lot of pain, sometimes there is intra-abdominal bleeding," he added.

"Those who have rib fracture or trauma, the pain lasts for two to three weeks. Like other injuries, we cannot give this part some rest. Every time we breathe in and breathe out, so that movement continues. And no matter how many pain killers you take, it takes two to three weeks to heal in its own way," he noted.

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"Coming back to sports, free from his pain and symptoms, it could take him two to three months," he concluded.

A few days ago, the BCCI released the third medical bulletin on Iyer, stating that he has been recovering well and was discharged from the hospital. However, he will be monitored in Sydney and will not fly to India until he is deemed fit enough to fly.

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