Superstar batsman Glenn Maxwell will miss Australia's tour of South Africa after succumbing to an elbow injury that now requires surgery.
The Melbourne Stars captain will be replaced by D'Arcy Short in the squads for both the Twenty20s and the 50-over one-day internationals, which start on February 22 (AEDT).
Maxwell was recalled to the limited-overs side when the touring squads were announced just over a week ago, after being controversially omitted from the team that played three ODIs in India last month.
But he told medical staff that the pain in his left elbow, which he had been managing during an explosive Big Bash League season with the Stars, had flared up and a scan revealed loose bone fragments in the joint.
He will now have arthroscopic surgery on Thursday and is expected to miss six to eight weeks, which will rule him out of not only the trip to South Africa for three T20s and three ODIs, but the three-game ODI series against New Zealand back home in March.
"Shattered to be missing the South Africa tour. I wish all the lads the best of luck over there and I'll be watching from home!" Maxwell tweeted.
"Thanks for all the wishes of support."
The injury also deals a blow to his chances of being named in the side for the men's Twenty20 World Cup, which starts in Sydney in late October, with no other international match scheduled in the interim.
National selector Trevor Hohns said it was particularly sad because "we were looking forward to welcoming him back to the national side" after Maxwell took a break to deal with mental health issues in the summer.
