Australia fast bowler John Hastings will undergo surgery on his right knee to repair a tendon he injured during a Sheffield Shield game last week.

Turning out for his state side, Victoria, against Tasmania, Hastings did "significant" damage to the patella tendon of his right leg, while bowling in the second innings. He had to go off after sending down only 3.1 overs then, and could not bat on the final day.

Cricket Australia physio Alex Kountouris said there was no estimated timeframe for Hastings' recovery yet, but it would likely be a long time before he is fit to play again. "Scans have revealed that John has a significant patella tendon injury and, after being reviewed by a specialist, it was decided that he will require surgery," Kountouris said. "We expect that John will require a long rehabilitation period after surgery, and we will have a better understanding of his return to play timeframes in the coming weeks."

Hastings, 31, was a regular part of the Australian limited-overs team in 2016 until he was dropped for the Chappell-Hadlee series against New Zealand. He had expressed "shock" at being omitted for those ODIs, having been the overall leading wicket-taker in the format in 2016 (29 wickets at 24.13 from 15 games) at the point when he was dropped. He had topped the list despite missing out Australia's tri-series in the West Indies due to an ankle injury he picked up in IPL 2016.

He had also broken a finger during the fifty-overs Matador Cup in October, but recovered fully to return to the first-class competition for Victoria.

Hastings will be replaced by left-arm fast bowler Jackson Coleman in the Melbourne Stars squad for the Big Bash League (BBL).