Conway's absence will surely hurt CSK who will enter the IPL 2024 season as the defending champions. The New Zealander was CSK's one of the most prolific run getters last season - 672 runs in 16 matches with six fifties and at a strike rate of 139.70.

Conway's injury update was shared by the New Zealand cricket on Monday (March 4) ahead of the second Test in the ongoing two-match series against Australia. Conway had suffered a thumb injury during the T20I series against Australia played before the Test series.

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Offering an update on Conway's injury, the Blackcaps wrote on their social media handle X: "Opener Devon Conway will this week undergo surgery on the left thumb he damaged during the KFC T20I series against Australia. Following several scans and specialist advice, the decision was made to operate on Conway with a likely recovery period of at least eight weeks."

IPL 2024 starts March 22 and is expected to continue till May end. With Conway needing at least eight weeks to recover, he's likely to miss major chunk of the season for CSK. IPL 2024 will kickstart with CSK taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

The current schedule is released for the first 17 days consisting of 21 matches until April 7 as the Indian general elections are expected to take place around the same time. The dates for the next phase of the IPL schedule will be declared after the Election Commission of India announces the general election dates.

Conway's participation in T20 World Cup, which takes place in June right after IPL, is also subject to fitness now.