Sore Lee 'may never bowl another ball'

Brett Lee has conceded that he might never bowl again, although he has not completely given up hope of returning to international cricket. Lee is recovering from elbow surgery that he described as the most painful he had ever encountered and he remains uncertain of when or if he will be able to resume bowling.

The operation in early December ruled Lee out of Australia's entire home summer of Tests and ODIs and he has not played at any level since mid-November. Lee, 33, last walked out in a Test team in December 2008 and while he remains an important one-day player when fit, he knows his future depends on how he recovers from his latest injury.

"As far as my cricket goes, anything is possible," Lee told the Herald Sun. "I may play one-dayers, or no cricket at all. I may never bowl another ball and if that's the case, I'm so satisfied with my career and my longevity. I'm not saying it's definitely over, but I'm not sure what I want to be just yet.

"To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure what I still want to do in my cricketing life. I need to get to the stage where, if I want to, I can do what I need to do on the field. If it's the case that I don't play again, well, that's the case. There is a part of me that would like to play some sort of cricket again."

Lee has endured plenty of injuries over his decade-long international career but has still found time to take 310 Test wickets at 30.81 and 324 ODI wickets at 23.01. However, he said the elbow problem was proving especially tough to get over.

"This has been the hardest surgery I've been through," he said. "It's certainly been the most painful. There's no miracle treatment for me. It's taking time. I still don't know when I'll be able to bowl again. I can't even give you an exact time. I will see how the arm pulls up because I can't achieve any aspirations in cricket unless my body is functional."

With Lee and his fellow senior fast man Stuart Clark both enduring long periods on the sidelines, Australia's fast-bowling depth has been tested this summer and the results have been promising. Lee said he would consider talking to Australia's captain Ricky Ponting when deciding whether to retire or attempt to regain his place in the team.