November 13 Wednesday 2002
Jayasuriya out of Test, Muralitharan may miss ODIs

JOHANNESBURG: Sri Lanka's preparations for the second cricket Test at Centurion have been hit by fitness concerns over skipper Sanath Jayasuriya and prize spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan.

Jayasuriya sprained his right ankle during a warm-up session at Wanderers Stadium and although x-rays have confirmed there is no fracture, there is sufficient ligament damage to make him extremely doubtful for the Test that starts on Friday.

Physio Alex Kontouri is hopeful he will recover in time to play some part in the five-match one-day series: "He is doubtful for Friday but we hope he will be available at some stage in the one-day series -- it will probably take a couple of weeks to heal."

Meanwhile, Muralitharan, who was out of action for three months earlier this year after dislocating his shoulder at Sharjah, has a hernia problem on the left side of his lower abdomen that could demand pre-emptive surgery immediately after the Test match.

Muralitharan first noticed a problem during opening Test at Wanderers. He saw a specialist in Johannesburg on Tuesday morning and management are awaiting the medical report before deciding on tbest course of action.

He is not in any pain and will play in second Test but the management are concerned the hernia does not flare up during the forthcoming World Cup and are therefore considering surgery immediately after the game.

That would mean the off-spinner would miss the entire one-day series in South Africa and the early part of Australia when Sri Lanka are due to participate in a tri-series with Australia and England.

"We are seeking specialist advice as to the chances of the problem getting worse," said Kontouri. "He is free of pain at the moment and he is fine to play in the Test but his lower abdomen is quite swollen.

"If the World Cup was not coming up we probably wouldn't consider surgery because it is difficult to tell when or whether hernia would develop into a problem. If medical opinion is that there is a high chance of it getting worse then he will have surgery."