Vijay faced Aussies with fractured wrist

India opener Murali Vijay has revealed he played through the pain of a fractured right wrist during the recent Test series against Australia.

The right-hander returned to India on Sunday having travelled to the UK for surgery to repair the injury, which he'd carried for most of India's 13-Test home season.

"I don't want to get too much into the status of the injury but I was playing with a fractured wrist," Vijay told the New Indian Express.

"It was a difficult situation to be in, but the team always comes first.

"I was not able to bat freely because, as the injury aggravated, I couldn't play certain shots and when I went out to bat, I had to grind it out.

"Especially against pacers, it was difficult at times to even defend off the front foot because it was my bottom hand that was injured.

"I was told not to use any power while batting, so that was something I had to keep in mind while facing spinners.

"As a batsman, when you can't play certain shots, it affects your momentum and it was frustrating, but I saw it as a challenge because nothing comes easy and I learned a lot.

"My body language might not tell you a real story all the time. I was in pain and it is not in my personality to show what I'm going through and gain sympathy.

"At the end of the day, I'm the one going through that and need to handle it on my own."

Quick Single: Vijay's consistency a relief for India

Vijay missed the second Test against Australia due to a shoulder problem, but returned for the third Test in Ranchi and scored a patient 82 in India's only innings of the match. It was his only strong contribution of the series with his other four innings producing scores of 10, 2, 11 and 8.

The opener had also injured his shoulder during the fifth Test against England in December, but returned to the side to score a century against Bangladesh in February. He also scored two hundreds in the four Tests he played against England.

Having celebrated India's series win in Dharamsala, he was ruled out of the Kings XI Punjab's Indian Premier League campaign and travelled to the UK for surgery.

"The team management really understood where I stood in terms of injury and they kept me motivated," he said.

"I have already started my rehabilitation and hopefully, in a month or two, I should be able to pick up the bat again."