Coach Stead says Williamson will likely be out of action in New Zealand for at least two months

New Delhi, Dec 7 : New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has been ruled out for the next two months and is likely to miss much of the home International summer due to a recurring elbow injury.New Zealand coach Gary Stead said on Tuesday that Williamsons left elbow is giving him more trouble and the skipper is likely looking at eight or nine weeks out of action, However, Stead said that it is unlikely that Williamson might go for surgery.

According to the report published in stuff.co.nz, Stead said, "His left elbow tendon flared up again through the last Test.He was clearly in great discomfort during the Test, and it hasn’t improved since then.

"New Zealand will host a series of two Tests against Bangladesh from January 1, and then travel to Australia for three more ODIs, and a T20 between January 30-February 8.Williamson will likely miss the first Test against South Africa that starts on February 17, 2022 I think surgery is unlikely.If we dont need to cut a tendon then we can choose not to do so.Its not easy for Kane, but its hard.He loves playing for New Zealand, he hates the thought of missing any cricket, let alone Test cricket for New Zealand," he added.

Williamson -- who has been battling a persistent elbow injury over the past year which bothered him during the Twenty20 World Cup last month -- was left out of the NZ XI for the second Test in Mumbai.He played the first Test of the two-test series in Kanpur.

"Its been a challenging year for Kane trying to manage his elbow and its important we now formulate a good plan with him to ensure the injury does not continue to plague him," Stead said.He will likely need to rest for a while, then rehabilitation, strengthening, and gradual bat loading.

Its been really difficult for Kane to deal with such a persistent injury.Although we were able to manage the injury throughout the year and the T20 World Cups, Kanes elbow has been severely affected by the increased batting load and the shift to Test cricket.

Ultimately the injury is still not right and while he got through the Kanpur Test, it was clear playing in the second Test wasnt an option," Stead said."We all know how much he loves playing and leading this team, particularly in Tes cricket, so its a very difficult decision to sit out," the coach added.inj/bs #Coach #Stead #Williamson #Zealand #Delhi #Mumbai #Cricket #BCCI #ICC #IPL #Sports #Kanpur .