Australian pacer Mitchell Starc faces future surgery on injured ankle

Adelaide: Australia's chairman of selectors Rod Marsh says the future of fast bowler Mitchell Starc is "in the lap of the gods" because his chronic ankle injury will need surgery sooner or later.

Marsh said Monday that Starc, who has a bone spur in one ankle, "can keep going until it actually gets a hell of a lot worse, and then he will have to have an operation. Rest won't help him"

The bone spur moves around in Starc's ankle and occasionally causes chronic pain.

"It is going to have to be removed but it will take another three or four months after the operation for him to be able to play again," Marsh said.

"We have got some pretty important cricket coming including the T20 World Cup and we would like to see Starc lead the attack for that," he said. "But if he can't, he can't. At the moment the plan is for him to keep going."

Starc had a cortisone injection prior to the recent fourth one-day international against England and missed that match.

"He wasn't rested, he had a cortisone injection and that took a day or two to take hold and get him pain free," Marsh said. "How long that (cortisone) will last and what will happen, it's in the lap of the gods."