India opener Lokesh Rahul is set to miss the Champions Trophy in June after undergoing an operation on his injured shoulder earlier this month, the 25-year-old has said.
Rahul hurt his left shoulder while batting during the opening Test against Australia in Pune but played through pain during the four-match series, scoring six half-centuries.
The right-handed batsman skipped the lucrative Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition, electing to have surgery in England instead.
"I will just have to wait and see but the chances are very, very slim," Rahul was quoted as saying by the Times of India newspaper.
"I had torn my labrum (a ring of fibrocartilage). I couldn't get into a few positions because my shoulder kept dislocating - popped out and popped back in.
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"That's why I couldn't play a lot of shots, had to restrict myself. I played with a lot of medication and taping. Surgery was to fix it on the inside."
The Champions Trophy, to be played between the top eight ODI sides of the world, starts from June 1 in England. Defending champions India are in Group B with Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka.
"They said it will take anywhere close to two to three months," Rahul said of his recovery period.
"But again, it depends, each body is different, you don't know how the body recovers.
"It is totally up to me and how I well I take care of myself in the rehab phase."
