By IANS,
Melbourne : An out-of-form Brett Lee’s woes do not seem to be ending. The Australian pace spearhead has now been ruled out of the third and the final Test in Sydney after sustaining a foot injury during the ongoing second Test against South Africa here Saturday.
Lee will face four to six weeks on the sidelines after X-rays revealed the first stages of a stress fracture had been detected in his left foot.
He didn’t bowl Sunday as South Africa recovered to put 459 runs on board and take a first innings lead of 65 runs. But Australia will make a desperate attempt to bowl him in South Africa’s second innings of the Boxing Day Test, but after that he will be rested for the final Test in Sydney this week and then for another month.
Lee, who is going through a prolonged rough patch since India tour, came under scrutiny Saturday after he ended with 0-68 off 13 mostly unproductive overs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
He now has figures of 1-200 in this series against South African series and his career is in free fall with calls gaining momentum to rest him.
Before the Test, Lee insisted he was far from a spent force and was only now on the verge of a complete recovery from the bug which has sapped him of his strength. Lee revealed he was still not back to his peak bowling weight after being diagnosed with a severe bout of giardia in India last month.
The parasite infection, which may be picked up from drinking contaminated water, hit Lee hard and he says he is still recovering after being stripped of 5kg.