Australian paceman Ryan Harris will miss the cricket World Cup as he's expected to be sidelined for 3-4 months following ankle surgery.
Harris was undergoing the operation on Wednesday with a specialist determined that was the best course of action after the 31-year-old Queenslander broke down with stress fractures during the fourth Ashes Test.
Australia's first match of the World Cup against Zimbabwe in India is on February 21, just under eight weeks away.
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But team doctor Trefor James confirmed the worst on Wednesday, Harris now unlikely to play again before May.
"The specialist confirmed that the best management for the stress fracture of his left ankle would be to undergo surgery," James said in a statement.
"This surgery will occur today and we expect Ryan's recovery time to be 3-4 months."
The Queensland paceman has a history of injury complaints, most recently missing July's Test series against Pakistan in England after undergoing surgery on a chronic knee complaint.
The latest setback could prove the last straw for the burly quick, who had reportedly considered retiring from first-class cricket on the eve of the Ashes series due to ongoing injury issues.
