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By Sa'adi Thawfeeq

The good news for Sri Lanka is that ace spinner Muttiah Muralitharan does not have to undergo any surgery to his injured left arm. But despite this fact, the bad news is that Muralitharan along with fast bowler Dilhara Fernando, will not be fit to play for Sri Lanka until at least the third and final cricket Test against England at Old Trafford on June 13.

There is an outside chance that one or both of them may yet still make it to the second Test starting at Edgbaston on May 30, but it's definite neither will be there for the opening match of the three-Test series at Lord's starting on May 16.

Fernando's injury at least, Sri Lanka maybe able to overcome to some extent because during his absence in the successful home series against West Indies and Zimbabwe, Nuwan Zoysa and Buddhika Fernando gave the spearhead of the bowling attack Chaminda Vaas adequate support. With Ruchira Perera, Eric Upashantha and rookie fast bowler Ishara Amarasinghe also available, Sri Lanka will not be all that short of bowlers in that department, although the captain Sanath Jayasuriya would prefer to have Fernando's extra pace and bounce to unsettle the Englishmen.

Muralitharan is irreplaceable because there is no one who can get any closer to his wicket-taking ability. He is a bowler who can take wickets on any pitch and under any conditions and that is saying a lot for this world class spinner. He injured his left arm playing in the Sharjah Cup final against Pakistan at Sharjah five days ago.

"Murali is definitely out of the first Test," said Sri Lanka team physio Alex Kountouri without blinking an eye lid.

"There's a very small chance he may play in the second Test and a good chance to play in the third, if everything goes to plan. According to the doctor's report and what I've felt, we are basically looking at the third Test at this stage. It's a human body and things don't always go according to plan," said Kountouri.

"Murali has hurt the joint just above the left shoulder. It is a similar injury to what he suffered in 1998 on the bowling arm which was not as severe as this one. This arm is completely dislocated, the small joint (not the shoulder joint) and the collar bone is sitting up in the wrong place. There is a big lump there," explained Kountouri.

Muralitharan is currently in Australia where he is undergoing treatment from Dr. David Young, an orthopaedic surgeon who specializes basically in knee and shoulder injuries. Young operated Muralitharan on his other arm and has also attended to a number of other Sri Lankan players'injuries as well as those of Australian sportsmen like Pat Rafter (tennis) and Ricky Ponting (cricket).

"He is going to look after Murali and keep me informed. Murali is going to be in Australia for a minimum of two weeks and I am trying to convince him to stay for four weeks so that he can relax and for the doctor to keep an eye on him," said Kountouri who left for England yesterday with the national team.

"There were different schools of thought on the option to operate or not to, depending on the surgeon, if he does it. I asked the doctor to be as conservative as possible because the idea was, if he was conservative and Murali doesn't have surgery, he was more likely to play sooner rather than later. If he went for an operation, he was going to be out for 12 weeks, which would have ruled him out of the entire tour," said Kountouri.

"Now that he is not going to have surgery, he can play within six to eight weeks. His arm is in a special sling custom-made for him in Australia. It is holding the bone in place. The doctor will review the injury in two weeks. If it's going okay, Murali will be sent off and two weeks later after that (4 weeks from now) he will be able to remove the plaster and start moving his arm. His arm will be immobilized for four weeks. After that, it is upto the Gods and upto us what we do with him. We'll need to try to speed it up as soon as possible and get him playing again," he said.

Dilhara's injury

Kountouri said that Fernando had been rested for three and a half weeks.

"He had a stress fracture in his back last year and he was rested for about 12 weeks. There was no pain when he started bowling in a couple of club matches. He was okay and he didn't have much pain but a little bit of stiffness in the same place. It could have meant that the bone hadn't healed or it could have been nothing.

"The only way to find out is to keep bowling him and see whether he breaks down or not. We were not prepared to take that chance with him at this stage. There are no scans and there is nothing that can give you any more information than what he is telling us. So we decided to be extra cautious with him and we are resting him for six weeks. He's already done four weeks and he is going to come over to England and join us. We are looking probably towards the end of the Test series before he starts to play maybe the Third test and the one-dayers," said Kountouri.

"Unfortunately, we made these decisions when Murali was fit and it was easier making them then. I am not sure that will change now. Dilhara is actually pain free at the moment and there is nothing wrong with him. He has rested and not bowled since the SSC semi-final game but doing gym work and rehabilitation exercise. We are just being precautionary with him because these things can drag on. If he breaks down it will be a big problem for us. He will be out for about 4-5 months.

"The difficult thing is going into a Test match after you have broken down. I know from past experience it is difficult. It is easier to come back in one-dayers instead of two or three Test matches. In another two weeks from today he is going to come to England and join us and start bowling. Then we are going to play it by ear. He might play sooner if things go well. We are keeping him from playing as a precautionary measure knowing the history of his injury. He will need one month before he can play in a Test. That is why we targeted the third Test," said Kountouri. 

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