Prior to the surgery, Iyer was suffering, so much so that he "wasn't even able to "express myself properly" about what he was going through. However, the 28-year-old stylish batter eventually recovered and returned to the Indian team for the upcoming Asia Cup. Now that he is back, he is taking it one step at a time

Recalling the days of his struggles because of the injury, Iyer told the BCCI: "To be precise, I had this nerve compression, basically a slip disc, which was compressing the nerve, and the pain was going all the way down to the bottom of my tiny toe. And, it was horrendous then."

Iyer's last outing was in March during the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which India won 2-1 before his injury kicked in. It also forced him to miss out on leading Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2023.

Iyer will be looking to bounce back in style during the upcoming Asia Cup, keeping in mind the ICC World Cup, to be played in India in October-November. However, he is not thinking too far ahead and prefers staying in the present

India's Asia Cup contingent is undergoing a week-long conditioning camp in Bengaluru from August 23-29 and will open their campaign on September 2 against Pakistan

(With PTI inputs)