England bowler Onions out for three months

London:

England pace-bowler Graham Onions will be sidelined for up to three months after scans on his back injury revealed the full extent of the problem.

Onions has been ruled out since the injury forced him to return home early from England's tour of Bangladesh in March.

The 27-year-old Durham star underwent scans on his back earlier this week, which confirmed the extent of the damage that rules him out of England's forthcoming international action against Bangladesh, Australia and Pakistan.

Scans showed Onions has an ongoing bone stress reaction in his back which needs a 12-week rehabilitation period.

With no chance of playing anytime soon, he also decided to have surgery at a London hospital on Wednesday to repair cartilage in his left knee.

"I am naturally incredibly disappointed to miss the bulk of the domestic season and am still hopeful that with rest I can be back on the field nearer to the end of the summer," Onions said.

"The ECB medical team has been very supportive and all I can do is be patient, work hard on my rehabilitation programme and focus on my number one goal which is to be fully fit and available for selection for the Ashes tour to Australia."

Onions' Durham coach Geoff Cook added: "This time last year he was picking up wickets every time he got the ball in his hand.

"He deservedly earned a call-up to the England team on the back of that and then he played a key role in the Ashes win last summer.

"It's a minor tragedy for him. It is for England cricket generally."