Wriddhiman Saha will undergo surgery on his right shoulder in Manchester at the end of July or the beginning of August, the BCCI confirmed on Saturday amid speculation that the India wicketkeeper’s injury was compounded by a bungled rehabilitation programme at the National Cricket Academy.

“Wriddhiman Saha has sustained a posterosuperior labral tear,” a BCCI statement said, adding that the 33-year-old has been advised to undergo surgery. “The labral repair surgery will be done by Dr Lennard Funk in Manchester, UK.”

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According to his website, Dr Funk “specialises in arthroscopic and minimally invasive surgery of the shoulder. He routinely treats elite and professional athletes, with particular interest in shoulder injuries in rugby and contact sports.”

The BCCI also said that the entire course of treatment and consultation that was carried out at the NCA for Saha was performed in co-ordination with the Indian team management and the general manager of operations.

Saha was not picked in the 18-man squad for the upcoming Test series against England but the BCCI had earlier not revealed the full extent of his fitness problems.

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The BCCI has now posted a timeline on its website, explaining the events that led to Saha requiring a surgery:

  • Saha reported to the NCA post the South African tour on 29th January 2018 with a complaint of pain in the upper left hamstring.
  • Simultaneously he complained of right shoulder pain. 
  •  An MRI scan was subsequently done in February, which revealed a labral tear.
  • Dr Srikanth Narayanaswamy, a sports physician, was then consulted, who advised an ultrasound guided injection, which was duly taken.
  • Following the injection, Saha went through a rehabilitation process at the NCA, as advised by the doctors, and on the 19th of March he was discharged, having fully recovered from his hamstring and shoulder injuries.
  • Saha then went to play IPL with the Sunrisers Hyderabad. On 7th of May he fell twice on his shoulder, jarring the joint.
  • The following day he complained of pain and stiffness in the shoulder to his IPL physiotherapist. Under the supervision of his IPL physiotherapist, he was taken to a doctor in Delhi and a second ultrasound-guided injection was taken.
  • Saha was thereafter rested for five IPL games while undergoing rehabilitation under the care of the franchise. As a result of this injection and the subsequent rehabilitation, his right shoulder condition improved and allowed him to play without pain towards the end of the IPL. 
  • During this period, on 15th of May, Saha requested to visit the NCA head physiotherapist, Ashish Kaushik, so that he could also review his right shoulder. Kaushik assessed his right shoulder and concluded that its presentation was similar to how it had been in late January/early February. Ashish informed the Sunrisers physiotherapist of this who then continued with his course of rehabilitation. The Team India physiotherapist was informed of this sequence of events. 
  • On 25th of May, Saha played the next IPL game. Unfortunately, Saha injured his right thumb during this game, with X-rays confirming that he had sustained a fracture.
  • On 28th of May, he was accompanied by the Team India physiotherapist to visit Dr Sudhir Warrier for a surgical opinion about his right thumb. Dr Warrier’s opinion was that the thumb injury did not require surgery. At this time, he complained of no shoulder pain or stiffness. A further X-ray on 2nd of July revealed that the thumb had healed.
  • On 3rd of July, Saha reported to the NCA for rehabilitation. He again reported that he was experiencing pain and restriction of movement in his right shoulder.  
  • On the 4th of July, Saha underwent an MRI of his right shoulder, which revealed that his labral tear had worsened as compared to his previous scan.
  • On the 6th of July, Saha was taken to meet Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, orthopaedic surgeon, at Kokilaben Ambani Hospital, Mumbai. Dr Pardiwala opined that another steroid injection would assist Saha’s recovery. He also stated that should the injury not respond to the injection, then surgery would be necessary.
  • Post the injection, after observation and rehabilitation for five days, when his condition had not improved, he was declared unfit on the 13th of July and the Indian team management was informed of the same.

As a result of having to undergo surgery, Saha is certain to miss out the entire Test series in England and is now also a doubt to play in Australia at the end of the year.