Australian pacer Hastings ruled out of tri-series

Australian pacer John Hastings will have to sit out of the One-Day International (ODI) cricket tri-series with the West Indies and South Africa as he had to undergo an ankle surgery.

Victorian fast bowler Scott Boland has been roped in as Hastings' replacement and is set to play in the West Indies.

Cricket Australia sports science and sports medicine manager Alex Kountouris said the need for surgery to remove bone spurs became apparent after Hastings returned from the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Hastings suffered the injury during training before the Kolkata Knight Riders' clash with the Mumbai Indians at Eden Gardens on April 13.

"John experienced pain in his left ankle during his recent stint in the IPL and had scans upon returning home which have confirmed early stage bone stress of his fibula bone near his ankle," Kountouris was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au on Wednesday.

"While laid off with this injury, we have taken this opportunity to undertake arthrosporic surgery to remove bone spurs in his left ankle which have been causing him concern for some time and were possibly contributing to the cause of the bone stress."

Kountouris said Hastings underwent the surgery during the weekend and now needs complete rest to recover from it.

"John had this surgery over the weekend and now requires a period of rest to resolve the bone stress and recover from surgery before he will resume bowling," he added.

The right-arm pacer had a wonderful start to the IPL. He bagged figures of 2-6 in his first match for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Daredevils.

--IANS

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