New Zealand opener Devon Conway is all but ruled out of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) due to a left thumb injury that will take eight weeks to heal, dealing a blow to his franchise Chennai Super Kings.

Conway sustained the injury during the T20I series against Australia last month.

The 32-year-old will undergo a surgery on his left thumb which got injured during the second T20I in Auckland on February 23. The IPL is scheduled to start on March 22, with defending champions CSK taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

He missed the first Test which ended on Sunday and after further medical examination, he has been advised surgery, which will take place later this week.

"Devon Conway has a small fracture in the joint of his thumb. So he will undergo surgery this week and hopefully he will good in somewhere between an eight-week period," New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said in a media interaction.

Conway was bought by Chennai Super Kings for a base price of Rs one crore in the 2022 auction.

The left-handed batter has amassed 924 runs in 23 matches in the IPL at an average of 46.12 with a strike rate of 141.28. CSK have started preparing for the upcoming IPL season with a training camp in Chennai.

"Following several scans and specialist advice, the decision was made to operate on Conway with a likely recovery period of at least eight weeks," New Zealand Cricket said in a statement.

The IPL schedule has been announced only for the first 21 matches. The fixtures for the remaining games will be announced after the schedule of the upcoming general elections in India is unveiled.

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