Southee suffers foot injury, Henry called up to NZ squad

New Zealand pacer Tim Southee has sustained an injury to his left foot during the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Nelson on Thursday, a release from New Zealand Cricket said. Matt Henry will replace him in the squad for the fourth ODI on January 2.

Southee, who will leave the squad for further evaluation, bowled six overs for 44 runs before hobbling off the field in Nelson. New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said the team management was unsure of the nature of the injury at that point.

Henry, incidentally, stood in for Southee when the latter was rested for the first two matches of the five-ODI series. Henry took four-fors in both ODIs in Christchurch, playing a key role in helping New Zealand establish an early lead in the five-match series.

"Tim felt pain in his left foot early in the second innings and was forced to come off," Hesson said. "We're not sure of the nature of the injury at this point and will need to find out more information over the coming days.

"Matt comes back into the squad having performed strongly in the opening two ODIs, so we know he'll join us in good form."

The Nelson match was Southee's first ODI since June as the bowler was rested for the limited-overs tour to South Africa and Zimbabwe in August. He suffered from an irritated disc in his back during the first Test against Australia in Brisbane, but subsequently regained his fitness to play the remaining two matches in Perth and Adelaide. With 13 wickets in two matches, Southee had finished as the top wicket-taker in the Test series against Sri Lanka that preceded the ODIs.

The last two ODIs of the series will be played on January 2 and January 5 in Nelson and Mount Maunganui, respectively.