'Hamstrung' Vettori may be dropped from Kiwi squad for a month

Auckland, Dec 10 : Kiwi spinner and former captain Daniel Vettori could be dropped from the team for at least a month due to a hamstring injury which forced him to sit out of the second Test match being played against Australia in Hobart, Tasmania.

Vettori would also miss a major part of Northern Districts'' Twenty20 tourney and some matches of the Australian Big Bash competition.

"We expect him to be rehabbing and back to full fitness within three to four weeks. He''s going to miss out on some of the T20 cricket for the remainder of December, but we''re confident he''ll be back to play some HRV cricket sometime in the New Year," stuff.co.nz quoted team’s physiotherapist Paul Close, as saying.

"It''s a minor injury but it''s been recurring for him over the last few years. Any injury that forces a player to miss a test match is significant," he added.

Vettori had suffered minor irritation in his left hamstring during a training session on December 8, but his injury aggravated at the warm-up session on December 9.

Close wants Vettori to be fit ahead of New Zealand XI tournament against Zimbabwe, which is a lead-up to the Napier test starting January 26.

Vettori’s injury forced him to drop out of second Test against Australia just before the toss and gave chance to a left-armer Trent Boult for a Test debut.