Wellington, Aug. 26 -- New Zealand will miss their key players in the upcoming home series against Australia, with a pair of stars facing up to three months on the sidelines, as per the official website of ICC.

Pacer Will O'Rourke (back), all-rounder Glenn Phillips (groin), batter Finn Allen (foot) and white-ball skipper Mitchell Santner (groin) are all battling various ailments and are likely to miss upcoming visits from Australia, England and the West Indies later this year.

O'Rourke's back injury is the most serious of the quartet, with the right-armer set to be out of action for at least three months after scans revealed he had a stress fracture in his lower back.

The 24-year-old was sent home when he picked up the injury during th...