Kimi Raikkonen will miss the final two races of the 2013 season.

The Finn’s manager, Steve Robertson, confirmed that the Lotus driver will undergo back surgery on Thursday and will need a four week recovery period. “In an ideal world it would have been nice to finish the season with Lotus in the final two grands prix. However, due to the severe pain that Kimi is having, sadly it is not possible,” said Robertson.

Raikkonen suffered with back issues which nearly ruled him out of racing during the Singapore grand prix weekend. If Raikkonen had opted to delay the surgery it could have impacted the start of his 2014 season. It is unclear at this stage who Lotus will opt to fill Raikkonen’s seat in Austin and Brazil. However, it is most likely to promote test and development driver Davide Valsecchi.

Raikkonen is currently third overall in the driver’s championship with 183 points. His final race for Lotus ended in retirement in the first lap of the Abu Dhabi GP after a collision with Giedo van der Garde’s Caterham.