A major setback seems to be in store for Australia ahead of 2019 World Cup as the return of former skipper Steve Smith, who is currently serving a one-year ban for the ball-tampering scandal, to international cricket could be delayed due to the elbow surgery he underwent last month.

While Smith's suspension ends on 29 March, he will not return to international cricket immediately targeting the World Cup as Cricket Australia (CA) is planning to bring him back into international cricket with Ashes, according to a report in ESPNCricinfo.

Such a situation has risen due to the severity of Smith's elbow injury which he suffered while playing the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) for Comilla Victorians. The 29-year-old underwent surgery last month and need to undergo extensive rehabilitation and the management doesn't want to rush his return to international cricket.

Instead of taking Smith to the World Cup the CA is pondering over the idea to make him play for Australia A or one of the English county sides at the time of the ICC event.

"We've got to keep working on how they are with their elbows, first. They're going to need to get some cricket before coming back into the squad. It's all part of the management. We'll have to wait and see," Justin Langer, Australia coach was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

Meanwhile, David Warner, who also suffered a minor elbow injury while playing in the BPL, is expected to recover in time to be the part of the ODI side for the series against Pakistan in UAE after his ban ends. He's also expected to make the trip to England and Wales for the World Cup