James Faulkner has been ruled out of the ongoing tour of New Zealand, adding yet another injury concern to Australia's Twenty20 World Cup planning.
Faulkner tweaked his hamstring on Wednesday, when his side suffered a demoralising 159-run loss to NZ at Eden Park.
The allrounder, one of the first picked in the national limited-overs sides, will miss ODIs in Wellington and Hamilton.
Marcus Stoinis will replace Faulkner in the 14-man squad, with scans in Melbourne to determine the extent of the Tasmanian's setback.
"James reported increased stiffness in his right hamstring during the first innings tonight and found it difficult running during our batting innings," Cricket Australia's sports science guru Alex Kountouris said.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
"Unfortunately, with the short turnaround between games, we do not believe he will recover in time to take any further part in the series.
"As a result, he will return to Melbourne tomorrow (Thursday) to have scans and start rehabilitation.
"We are hopeful this is only a low-grade injury but will know more in the coming days."
Australia's T20 World Cup campaign starts on March 18 in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala, where they face the Black Caps.
National T20 captain Aaron Finch, who strained his hamstring at the MCG on Friday night, is already racing the clock to be fit for that tournament.
However, it is Australia's pace attack that has been truly decimated in recent months.
Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, both part of Australia's triumphant ODI World Cup squad last year, will miss the event.
Nathan Coulter-Nile is also sidelined through injury, while James Pattinson failed to play a single Big Bash League match because of shin soreness.
Stoinis has played a single ODI, against England last year in Leeds.
The Victorian will be substituted out of the ongoing Sheffield Shield match at the MCG.
"It's unfortunate that James has suffered this injury but the situation presents another good opportunity for Marcus," chief selector Rod Marsh said.
"He is a promising young allrounder who had a taste of international cricket last winter in England and, hopefully, this call-up will continue with his development."
