Tim Paine to undergo neck surgery before Ashes

Australia Test captain Tim Paine is set to undergo surgery on Tuesday to get rid of a nagging neck pain ahead of the Ashes series against England in December.

Paine, 37, exuded confidence of regaining full fitness to lead the Test side in this summer's Ashes.

The surgery is meant to fix a ''pinched nerve in his neck'', which has halted his pre-season training with Tasmania.

''The consensus of the spinal surgeon and the CA medical team was to have the surgery now which will allow plenty of time to fully prepare for the summer,'' Paine was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

''I expect to be able to restart physical activity by the end of this month and be back in full training in October.

''I will be ready to go by the first Test and am very much looking forward to what will be a huge summer.

The first Ashes Test is scheduled to start on December 8 at the Gabba.

Paine has had series of surgeries in the past and an injury to his right index finger had almost ended his career before he made an unexpected comeback to the Test side in 2017.

He underwent seven surgeries to fix his finger.

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