Superstar Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who was all set to make his international comeback in the upcoming ODI and T20I series in South Africa, has been ruled out of the tour with an elbow injury. He is likely to miss the beginning of this year’s IPL as well.

Maxwell, who was in stupendous form in the recently-concluded Big Bash League (BBL) and led Melbourne Stars to the final, will undergo surgery on his left elbow. He has been replaced by D’Arcy Short in both the squads.

“The operation and subsequent recovery is set to sideline the 31-year-old for six to eight weeks, but he is expected to be available the Indian Premier League with franchise Kings XI Punjab,” Cricket Australia said in an official statement.  The 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League will begin on March 29.

“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 20- and 50-over formats after his break during the summer,” Australia’s National Selector Trevor Hohns said.

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

Maxwell, on the other hand, said he was worried about not performing well in international cricket and said the decision to step away from the South Africa tour was difficult.

“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,” Maxwell said in the statement.

“I would like to thank Justin Langer, Ben Oliver, Trevor Hohns and the whole Australian squad for their understanding.”

The South Africa tour was the first time Maxwell had been picked for national duties since taking a break from cricket in October due to mental health issues.

The Victorian had withdrawn himself from Australia’s T20I squad in the middle of the three-match series against Sri Lanka in October last year. He took the break a day after playing a fiery knock of 62 in just 28 balls.

The announcement from the 31-year-old had shocked the cricketing world but opened the door for various Australian and other cricketers to open up about their mental health issues.

Maxwell’s move to take a break and focus on health was praised by many in the cricket world, including Australia coach Justin Langer and India captain Virat Kohli.