Australia captain Tim Paine is set to have surgery on Tuesday in a bid to treat a pinched nerve in his neck.
Paine has been struggling with a bulging disk which has caused him pain in his neck and left arm.
Provided the surgery and his rehabilitation goes successfully, Paine is confident that he will be able to captain his country in this winter's Ashes series against England.
In a statement, Paine said: "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.
"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."
As a result of the operation, Paine will be unable to feature in Tasmania's early Sheffield Shield games.
Australia have not played a Test match since their January defeat to India at the Gabba and they may not play another one until the first Ashes game on December 8.
They are currently scheduled to take on Afghanistan in a one-off Test in November, but that game is in doubt.
After the deputy head of the Taliban's cultural commission Ahmadullah Wasiq stated that the new Afghan government will not allow women to play the sport, Australia threatened to cancel the Test.
In a statement, Cricket Australia said: "Driving the growth of women's cricket globally is incredibly important to Cricket Australia.
"Our vision for cricket is that it is a sport for all and we support the game unequivocally for women at every level.
"If recent media reports that women's cricket will not be supported in Afghanistan are substantiated, Cricket Australia would have no alternative but to not host Afghanistan for the proposed Test Match due to be played in Hobart.
"We thank the Australian and Tasmanian Governments for their support on this important issue."
