Stress fracture forces McKay out of World Cup

Clint McKay, the right-arm bowler, is out of contention for the World Cup after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left foot. McKay, who grabbed 27 wickets at 19.59 for Australia in 2010, requires an operation and faces a 10-week recovery.

The news is another blow for Australia, who still hold the No.1 ranking in ODIs and are aiming for their fourth World Cup in a row at the tournament starting next month. Australia's final 15-man squad for the event will be named next week.

McKay, 27, was Man of the Match in Australia's last one-day international, taking 5 for 33 against Sri Lanka in November, and he collected three wickets in the Big Bash game for Victoria in which he felt pain in his foot.

''Obviously his workload over the past two years has been a lot higher - he's played for Australia, he's played some cricket in England as well - but he's been good considering the workload he's had," Victoria's physiotherapist Thihan Chandramohan said in The Age. "It's the first major injury that's put him out for a long period … and it's one that's hard to prevent because it's just related to the bone not handling the load that's going into it.''

McKay is hoping he can be fit for the start of the IPL in April, although that might be a little too ambitious. He was signed to Mumbai Indians for $US111,000.