MELBOURNE, Australia (Reuters) – Glenn Maxwell’s return to Australia’s national side has been short-lived with the all-rounder ruled out of their limited overs tour of South Africa to have elbow surgery.

Maxwell, who was replaced by top-order batsman D’Arcy Short, was only recalled to the Australian team earlier this month after taking a break last October to deal with mental health issues.

He will have surgery today and be out of action for between six and eight weeks, Cricket Australia said in a statement yesterday.

“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 T20- and 50-over formats after his break during the summer,” national selector Trevor Hohns said.

“Unfortunately, the pain he has experienced in the elbow in the latter stages of the Big Bash increased over the weekend and he will have surgery immediately to rectify the situation.”

Maxwell said he was disappointed to withdraw from the squad but having surgery was the right decision.

“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,” he said.

Australia start the tour of South Africa on February 21 with the first Twenty20 in Johannesburg, before the one-day series starts in Paarl on February 29 and concludes with further matches in Bloemfontein and Potchefstroom in early March.

Australia’s Qantas Tour of South Africa 2020

Australia T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitch Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Australia ODI squad: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey (v-c), Pat Cummins (v-c), Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

First T20: February 21 at Johannesburg. 03:00hrs AEDT (February 22), Fox Cricket & Kayo

Second T20: February 23 at Port Elizabeth 23.30hrs AEDT, Fox Cricket & Kayo

Third T20: February 26 at Cape Town. 03:00hrs AEDT (February 27), Fox Cricket & Kayo

First ODI: February 29 at Paarl (D/N). 22:00hrs AEDT, Fox Cricket & Kayo

Second ODI: March 4 at Bloemfontein (D/N). 22:00hrs AEDT, Fox Cricket & Kayo

Third ODI: March 7 at Potchefstroom. 19:00hrs AEDT, Fox Cricket & Kayo.