Bone spurs give Ponting sleepless nights

The pain caused by bone spurs in Ricky Ponting's back has got worse after each match since the Perth Test. Ponting has endured sleepless nights and had three pain-killing injections in his spine this week in a bid to regain full fitness for next month's World Cup.

Ponting will have treatment on the injury instead of going to New Zealand for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, which begins in Wellington on Friday. "It's been something that has been bothering me a lot through the summer," Ponting told AAP. "It started the second day of the Perth Test, which is a long time ago now. It hasn't gone away and it's got worse game by game."

A cramped schedule prevented Ponting from having scans until last Thursday and x-rays had showed spurs on his spine. "It's just the right time now to get it fixed as soon as possible," he said, "so I'm not having a lot of sleepless nights through the World Cup as I've had through the summer."

Ponting does not expect to need surgery to remove the spurs, but he might have to reduce the amount of golf he plays. "Listening to the specialist it will take four to five days to settle down completely," he said, "so I'll have a few more days on anti-inflammatory yet before I'll be feeling any better.

"The doctor says having the injections gives me the best chance of getting better as quickly as possible. If the injections take away a lot of the inflammation that's been around the spine it should be better."