Bond fears lengthy lay-off

New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond could be facing a long lay-off as a result of a back injury he picked up during Sunday's ODI against Pakistan.

Bond limped out of the match after bowling five overs, and there are fears that he may have a stress fracture in his lower back. "He's got a terrible lower back strain," explained Jeff Crowe, New Zealand's team manager. "We're going to get a scan on Shane's back when we get to Colombo."

Bond will almost certainly miss Tuesday's one-dayer against Sri Lanka at Dambulla, and Stephen Fleming admitted that his absence had already been discussed. "You can't replace Shane easily," he said, "but if he doesn't play we'll bring in Kyle Mills or Andre Adams."

Crowe added that Paul Wiseman had been asked to stay with the squad in case Bond's injury does turn out to be serious. Wiseman was originally brought in as cover for Daniel Vettori.