New Zealand opener Devon Conway is all but ruled out of the upcoming 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 back on February 23. The IPL is scheduled to start on March 22 with defending champions Super Kings taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Conway 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 be good in somewhere between an eight-week period,” New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said.

“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.

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