TEHRAN – Iran national volleyball team opposite spiker Shahram Mahmoudi will likely miss the Olympic Games due to lack of preparation.

The 32-year-old player has undergone spine surgery and is in the recovery process at the moment.

Mahmoudi has not chosen his new team for the upcoming season of the Iran Volleyball Super League which will start next week.

He was a member of Iran national team in the 2016 Olympic Games, where the Persians finished in fifth place.

Iran national volleyball team have been drawn in Pool A along with Japan, Poland, Italy, Canada and Venezuela.

Pool B consists of Brazil, the U.S., Russia, Argentina, France and Tunisia.

Iran will start the Tokyo 2020 Olympic campaign, now re-planned for 2021, with a match against Poland on July 24.