KL Rahul set to miss IPL 2017 due to shoulder surgery

Already sweating over the fitness of their skipper Virat Kohli, Royal Challengers Bangalore have been dealt with another major blow ahead of the 10th edition of the Indian Premier League with the prospect of their in-form wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul skipping the upcoming season due to injury.

Rahul, who carried a shoulder injury throughout the recently-concluded four-match Test series against Australia, is likely to travel to England next week for a surgery that could effectively rule him out of the entire IPL 2017. Despite the injury, the 24-year-old batsman was India's second highest run-getter in the Test series with 393 runs, behind Cheteshwar Pujara, who had 405.

While there is no clarity on how long Rahul would take for full recovery, the Karnataka player and the national side would be hoping he is back in the thick of things by the time the team reunites ahead of the 2017 Champions Trophy in England in June. The limited-overs competition will be followed by a full tour of Sri Lanka in July-August.