Brett Lee's rollercoaster ride of the last twelve months has arguably struck its lowest point today with news that the New South Wales and Australian speedster will need to undergo surgery to correct ligament and tendon damage in his right elbow.

Brett Lee Photo CricInfo

An injury which was sustained when he threw a ball from the outfield during yesterday's Carlton Series match against Zimbabwe in Perth, it is expected to force the twenty-four year old paceman out of action for between three and six months.

Coming as it does not only on the eve of the Carlton Series one-day finals against West Indies but also in the lead-up to the national team's much-anticipated tour of India, it is an horrific blow for Australian cricket. The Australians hold strong hopes of complementing an undefeated progression through the Carlton Series programme with their country's first Test series win on Indian soil in thirty-two years. Lee was a central part of both plans.

Even though he has suffered a series of setbacks over recent months, Lee has quickly established a reputation for himself as one of modern cricket's most destructive bowlers. Forty-two wickets have already come his way from just seven appearances at Test level and another forty wickets have fallen to him at one-day international level. Frequently, his sheer pace has proven too much for opposition batsmen to counter.

Following his meteoric rise to stardom during the 1999-2000 season (when he captured a stunning thirty-one wickets in five Tests against India and New Zealand), though, Lee has endured a more troubled period of late. While ultimately cleared of irregularity, the legitimacy of his bowling action was cast under a cloud in July when it was revealed that Umpires Srinivas Venkatraghavan and Arani Jayaprakash had each referred the matter - during the Test series against New Zealand four months earlier - to Match Referee Mike Denness and, in turn, to an International Cricket Council (ICC) advisory panel.

During the current Australian summer, Lee suffered further disappointment as he sat out three Tests against the touring West Indians - and the opening phase of the Carlton Series which followed - after precautionary scans revealed signs of stress in his lower back.

Ironically, Lee believes his back to be in excellent condition at present. Suddenly, though, the Australians' aspirations of extending their record-breaking run of Test victories with further success in India are not.

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