Ryder faces surgery for groin injury

Jesse Ryder, the New Zealand batsman, will undergo surgery next week to reinforce his abdominal wall after suffering another setback in his recovery from a groin injury. He has been out of action since the ICC Champions League last September with a problem that has troubled him for nearly a year.

Ryder had initially hoped to test himself in a warm-up match against an England Under-19 side in January, but the healing was slower than expected and forced him to push back his targeted return to the ICC World Twenty20 in the Caribbean this May. There was no word on whether the surgery will force him out of the game for even more time.

"He will have to undergo extensive fitness testing, then prove himself fully fit in domestic first-class cricket," Mark Greatbatch, the New Zealand coach and selector, said. "His return to the Black Caps is entirely dependent on him being fit and injury-free."

The New Zealand team physio Kate Stalker said Ryder had been examined in Auckland on Wednesday by a team of consultants, who recommended surgery. "He showed a tear of the rectus abdominis muscle," she said. "It is a very complex injury and, unfortunately, has not responded as well as we would have hoped.

"Next week's surgery will strengthen Jesse's lower abdominal wall to provide support to the area in general and will allow his rehabilitation to progress."