Shreyas Iyer's Spleen Injury: Why His Cricket Comeback Could Take 3 Months

Iyer sustained a serious injury to his spleen after landing awkwardly on his left side during the third ODI against Australia at Sydney while taking a remarkable catch to dismiss Alex Carey.

Iyer looked in excruciating pain as he was taken off the field with help of support staff. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) later confirmed that Shreyas sustained a blunt injury to his abdomen, resulting in a laceration of his spleen with internal bleeding. The 31-year-old was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and was later discharged.

Speaking to ANI, Sarthak explained that Shreyas'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 doctor stated that spleen injuries can be categorised into two types: minor and major. He also said that Iyer could be having "spleen trauma due to which there could be minimal contusion or bleeding".

"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.

Doctor also spoke on possibility of a rib injury, where the pain does not go away easily and there is movement when a person breathes, resulting in pain that lasts two three weeks.

"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 added.

Dr Sarthak also said that in future, he would not face problems in his career, but it would take him time.

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

On Saturday, the BCCI released a statement to confirm that Shreyas "will continue to stay in Sydney for follow-up consultations and will return to India once he is deemed fit to fly." The BCCI also extended its heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Kouroush Haghigi and his team in Sydney, as well as to Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala in India, for ensuring that Shreyas received the best treatment for his injury.

- ANI