Melbourne: Australia’s fastest bowler Brett Lee will have ankle surgery on Tuesday and will miss the two-Test tour of Zimbabwe in May.
Lee was sent home from Sri Lanka after breaking down with a sore ankle before the first Test earlier this month.
The 27-year-old will have surgery on his left ankle at a Sydney hospital, Cricket Australia (CA) said in a statement on Sunday.
“Lee will then undergo a lengthy rehabilitation process and it is not yet known how long he will be sidelined,” CA said.
Lee said in the CA statement: “Obviously, I have been bowling with some discomfort for a little while now and, despite receiving plenty of treatment on the ankle, it was still causing me some trouble.
“Whilst it’s disappointing not to be playing right now, I need to make sure the ankle is right so that I can look to be playing in the longer term rather than trying to apply a short-term fix. After the operation, I will be doing everything I can with rehabilitation to get back to 100 per cent fitness.”