Australian pace bowler Brett Lee is expected to be out until September after undergoing ankle surgery. Lee was sent home after picking up the injury on a tour match before the first Test in Sri Lanka and has had a piece of bone in his left ankle removed.
"It went really well," said Lee's manager, Neil Maxwell. "They took out a piece of bone about the size of a cashew nut."
Lee faces a race to be fit for the Champions Trophy and the tour of India.
But he is definitely out of the Zimbabwe tour in May and the visit of Sri Lanka to Australia in July after a second such operation in five months.
The 27-year-old missed much of the Australian summer after undergoing ankle surgery last October to treat bone spurs.
 |  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 |
He performed fairly in the one-day series at the start of the Sri Lanka tour, but was sidelined again before the Test series started.
And Lee believes the latest setback might have been caused by playing on despite being troubled by the ankle.
"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," he said prior to surgery.
"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."
Chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said it was important the speedster's problems were addressed.
"Brett Lee is a player we regard as a long term prospect for Australia, and in that sense we need to make sure he is fully rehabilitated so that he can continue his career over a long period," Hohns said.
"The most important thing for Brett is that the injury problem is addressed and he has ample time to heal properly so that when he returns to competitive cricket, he is fully fit and injury-free."
MMIX
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
