Glenn McGrath reviewed by surgeon

Australian fast-bowler Glenn McGrath will be sidelined until at least mid-December following a review of his injured left ankle by leading orthopedic surgeon Dr Martin Sullivan in Sydney today.

The diagnosis confirms that McGrath will be unavailable for selection in the 3 Test Series against Zimbabwe and the Travelex One-day International Tour of India later this month.

McGrath, who was forced to return from Perth yesterday (Sunday 5 October), following a Cricket Australia training camp, is suffering from articular cartilage damage and spurs at the front of his ankle and will undergo corrective surgery tomorrow.

The problem is different to that which forced him to undergo surgery in August and miss the VB Series of one-day internationals against Bangladesh in Darwin and Cairns.

On that occasion, McGrath had a spur removed from the back of his ankle.

Following the review Dr Sullivan said: "It is clear that the surgery Glenn underwent in August if fine, however this is a new problem and one that will need to be rectified by surgery.

"The cartilage damage has existed for several years, possibly from Glenn's days playing basketball, but it has clearly been aggravated.

"Errol Alcott (Australian team physiotherapist) and I will review him again in mid-December, however I expect him to make a full recovery," he said.

Dr Sullivan has previously performed ankle surgery on several members of the Australian squad.