Usman Khawaja’s Test career is under a dark cloud as he races against the clock to recover from an injury which has now forced him to withdraw from a golf event.

The 38-year-old suffered ongoing troubles in the first Ashes Test against England and had to spend time off the field while Australia was bowling as he was treated for back spasms.

Khawaja came under fire for his decision to play golf three days in a row before the first Test but Cricket Australia has stressed it had no impact on his back problems.

After visibly struggling during Australia’s two-day victory, Khawaja has since pulled out of an Australian PGA Pro-Am event at Royal Queensland scheduled for Wednesday.

Khawaja opens the batting for Australia but in his side’s first innings he was forced to wait until second drop, after he was deemed ineligible to open as he spent too long off the field towards the end of England’s innings.

When he eventually came in at no.4, he appeared to be moving awkwardly and was dismissed cheaply for just two runs.

In the second innings, no.5 Travis Head was instead bumped up to open in Khawaja’s place and ended up winning the game for the Aussies with a breathtaking 123 off just 83 deliveries.

Head’s assured performance at the top of the order put even more pressure on Khawaja and whether an announcement on his Test future is imminent as he nears his 39th birthday next month.

All-rounder Beau Webster is another batting option in the squad if Khawaja is ruled out of the second Test, while Queensland opener Matt Renshaw is banging the door down with his Sheffield Shield form.

While there were many critics of Khawaja’s decision to play golf before the first Test, Australian cricket legend Mark Waugh saw no issue with how he prepared ahead of the Ashes.

“What do you want to do, keep them in their hotel room? No, I don’t have a problem with it,” Waugh said.

“I’m sure he didn’t play golf knowing he had a bad back. So no, I’ve got no issue with it. You’ve got to fill in your time. And be normal.”

Khawaja poked fun at the furore surrounding his decision to play golf, as he posted an image of a golf course on Instagram on Monday night while he celebrated the past week.

The left-handed batsman has been a mainstay of the Test side since returning to the fold in a career renaissance in the 2021-22 Ashes.

Across 84 Test matches, he has an average of 43.86 and 16 centuries to his name.