New Zealand cricketer Shane Bond will be sidelined for up to four months after confirmation Tuesday that he has a stress fracture of the spine.
The injury forced the fast bowler out of the tour of Sri Lanka last week, and a bone scan in Christchurch confirmed the fracture. It means he will be unable to accept an offer to play for English county Warwickshire this year.
He is due to undergo a scan later this week which will give him a firmer idea when he can expect to play again.
"It is going to mean a three to four-month stand-down from bowling," Bond said. "It's a fairly serious injury. The continual pounding away when I'm bowling has caused a little crack in the spine."
The injury first flared in the one-day international against Pakistan in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, on May 11, when he was able to bowl only five overs.
"Once I cooled down after my spell I really struggled to move and it's been like that since," said Bond, who had been troubled by stress fractures before playing internationally for the first time in 2001-2002.
Bond said it was disappointing to miss the opportunity to play for Warwickshire.
{{/usCountry}}Bond said it was disappointing to miss the opportunity to play for Warwickshire.
{{/usCountry}}"I am fairly philosophical about it though. I look at it as if I never signed that contract (one-season deal for the county) and perhaps that opportunity will arise later on."
He said he would reassess his bowling action and training methods.
"I am a fast bowler and it is extremely tough on the body. There are days you wake up stiff but that's the role I have in the (New Zealand) team. I offer the team something different and I have to continue bowling in the same way.
"Perhaps it's the way that I prepare myself that will allow me to have a long career in the game."