Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak will be out of action for up to 12 weeks after dislocating his left shoulder in a road accident in Sri Lanka.

Fast bowler Streak was travelling in a three-wheeler taxi in Colombo when it overturned after swerving to avoid a collision with a van.

He will be unable to play in a home series against Pakistan, which starts on 9 November and features two Tests and five one-day internationals.

"Heath's immediate target is a return to the side for the series against Kenya in December and to be completely fit for the ICC World Cup early next year," said team manager Babu Meman.

The Zimbabwe team will return home on Wednesday after taking part in the ICC Champions Trophy tournament, where they lost both matches against India and England.

Streak, 28, is their leading wicket-taker with 180 in 51 Test appearances and 183 in one-day internationals.

He was recently re-appointed captain for the 2002-03 season after giving up the job in October last year in order to re-focus on his own game.

A temporary replacement for the Pakistan series has yet to be named.

A number of senior team mamabers have international captaincy experience including Alistair Campbell, Andy Flower and, most recently, Stuart Carlisle.