Glenn Maxwell to undergo surgery, stands down from South Africa tour

Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has opted to give the South Africa tour a miss in order to undergo surgery on his left elbow, Cricket Australia confirmed on Wednesday.

As a result, D'Arcy Short has replaced Maxwell in both the squads for T20I and ODI series against South Africa.

"Representing Australia is the highest honour in cricket and something I cherish," Maxwell said. "I was not confident that I could perform at international level with my elbow in its current state and have decided to undergo surgery straight away to fix the issue," Maxwell said in an official statement.

Maxwell informed Australian team medical staff about the pain in his elbow. Imaging scans revealed some loose fragments of bone within his elbow joint.

He will undergo arthroscopic surgery on Thursday. It is expected that he will require six-to-eight weeks before he is ready to return to playing.

"We are disappointed to lose Glenn this close to the tour as we were looking forward to welcoming him back to the national side in both the 20- and 50-over formats after his break during the summer. Unfortunately, the pain he has experienced in the elbow in the latter stages of the BBL increased over the weekend and he will have surgery immediately to rectify the situation," National Selector Trevor Hohns said in an official statement.

"An opportunity has now presented itself for D'Arcy and we are confident he'll make the most of whatever opportunities come his way in South Africa. Like Glenn, D'Arcy is an inventive, hard-hitting batsman who offers a handy spin-bowling option. We have no doubt he will make a positive contribution to the squad," he added.

Australia will take on South Africa in three T20Is and as many ODIs. The first T20I will be played on February 21.