Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has not been featured in the South Africa series as he has been ruled out because of an elbow injury. D’Arcy Short has been announced as his replacement in both the T20I and ODI squads for the six-match tour, as per the reports in cricket.com.au. The 31-year-old will undergo surgery on the joint on Thursday in Melbourne. However, the Melbourne Stars captain had been carrying the injury since the back-end of the Big Bash League season where his side finished as runners-up.

The operation and the time of recovery are set to sideline Glenn Maxwell for nearly six to eight weeks, but he is expected to be available during the Indian Premier League (IPL) which will start from March 29. Maxwell said the decision to not feature from the Proteas tour was difficult but he was worried that he would not be at his best of form for international cricket.

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“I was not confident that I could perform at international level with my elbow in its current state and have decided to undergo surgery straight away to fix the issue,” the all-rounder added in a statement.

He further tweeted: “Shattered to be missing the South Africa tour. I wish all the lads the best of luck over there and I’ll be watching from home.”

“We are disappointed to lose Glenn this close to the tour as we were looking forward to welcoming him back to the national side in both the 20- and 50-over formats after his break during the summer,” Australia’s National Selector Trevor Hohns added.

“Unfortunately, the pain he has experienced in the elbow in the latter stages of the BBL increased over the weekend and he will have surgery immediately to rectify the situation,”he further added abouth the injury of Glenn Maxwell.

Australia will take on South Africa in a three-match T20I series and as many ODIs, beginning on February 21 in Johannesburg.