NEW DELHI, March 25: Indian cricket star Sachin Tendulkar left for London on Saturday to undergo surgery on his injured shoulder, news reports said. Tendulkar is expected to be operated upon on Monday, Press Trust of India reported.

The surgery will rule him out of play for eight weeks, according to the Indian cricket board.

On Tuesday, Indian selectors said that Tendulkar, 33, is suffering from a cyst and a tear in his right shoulder. Throwing the ball sparks pain in Tendulkar’s shoulder but his batting remains unaffected by the injury.

Tendulkar holds the record for scoring the most centuries in both Tests and limited-overs matches — 35 and 39 respectively.

But he has lately experienced poor form, scoring 16 and 28 not out in the first Test against England at Nagpur, four in the first innings in the second Test at Mohali, and one and 34 in the just-concluded third Test at Mumbai.

For the first time ever, he was booed by his home crowd at Mumbai, and Indian media have started calling him ‘Endulkar’ with some commentators suggesting he should retire.

Tendulkar dismissed the possibility of retirement.

“I am not even interested in this question,” he told Outlook magazine. “If you look at things in (the) proper perspective, I played just three innings in Pakistan and four at home against England. It is fine. Nothing to be concerned about.”

Tendulkar earlier had to rest for six months in 2005 after undergoing surgery for tennis elbow. His surgery this week will be conducted by surgeon Andrew Wallace, who also performed last year’s operation.

—AP