MELBOURNE, Dec 15 AAP - Champion Australian leg spinner Shane Warne suffered a dislocated shoulder here tonight in the one-day cricket match against England.

The joint was put back in the dressing room, but he had not yet gone to hospital.

An Australian Cricket Board spokesman confirmed the nature of the injury.

He added Warne would see a shoulder specialist and undergo diagnostic scans to determine the extent of the damage.

"More will be known in due course," the spokesman said.

Warne hurt his right shoulder after diving to field a ball off his own bowling in the 28th over of England's innings.

Television footage showed him clutching his bowling shoulder in agony and he was stretchered from the field a few minutes later.

There were immediate fears he could be ruled out for the World Cup tournament in six weeks in South Africa.

He missed much of the 1998-99 season after needing a reconstruction of the shoulder.

Warne also was out of action for several months during the 2000-01 season when he broke the spinning finger in his right hand in a fielding accident.

Warne, Test cricket's second-highest wicket taker with 491, underwent a strict fitness and diet regime this year to prolong his career.

Australian team physiotherapist Errol Alcott said the best-case scenario for Warne was four to six weeks in the stands.

"We know he's actually dislocated his shoulder. He's got what's called an anterior dislocation," Alcott said.

"It was put back in by the ACB chief medical officer Trefor James. It went in really well, so we're happy about.

"Now we need to just wait a little bit to see if there's any further damage.

"First of all, we need to establish if there's any boney injury, so we need to get some plain x-rays done on it.

"And then he'll be seen by a specialist, a shoulder specialist who has actually done his surgery before.

"Our main concern is his prior history. He's had surgery on that shoulder before so we need to have a look and see if there's perhaps further damage done to that already damaged joint.

"We're looking four to six (weeks out) to start with. It might be more four than six but it depends if there's anything else injured.

"If there is something more, than we'd probably have to add on the weeks."

Warne's injury is almost certain to rule the 33-year-old out of the remaining two Tests of the Ashes series against England.

Ponting said he was not a medical person, but thought Warne would be out of action "for quite a while", given it was a shoulder dislocation and his history of problems with the joint.

"It was a sad thing to happen in a good game and we don't know the full extent of it just yet," Ponting said.

"Obviously, it's a shoulder dislocation and apparently it went back into (the) joint fairly easily.

"He's off tonight, X-rays and scans, and we probably won't know until later tonight or early tomorrow morning just how bad it is.

"It's pretty safe to say he will be out for quite a while yet."

© 2002 AAP NewsWire

This report does not necessarily represent the views of the Australian Cricket Board.