Lee won't be rushed back into one-day cricket: Oz coach

Melbourne, Apr 11 (ANI): Australia's cricket coach Tim Nielsen has said that fast bowler Brett Lee won't be rushed back into one-day cricket too quickly during the Pakistan series starting in Dubai on April 22.

Lee, who broke down in December in the Melbourne Test against South Africa with foot and ankle injuries, is in Port Elizabeth training with his Indian Premier League side Kings XI Punjab ahead of the IPL's five-week season, which starts in Cape Town on April 18.

However, since Lee has been selected in Australia's squad for the Pakistan series, he's expected to link-up with the national squad when it flies out of Johannesburg on April 18 following the fifth and final ODI match against the Proteas at Wanderers Stadium.

"We're looking forward to him coming to Dubai. We'll take the opportunity to sit down and have a chat with him and see how he's going and make sure we understand where he's at with his bowling and how he's going with his body," Herald Sun quoted Nielsen, as saying.

"I'm just pleased they picked him to play for us. We want our best players around playing for us whenever possible. But we can't afford to rush him back either. We need the best plan of attack on his rehab and making sure his body is right before he starts trying to bowl flat out for Australia again," he added.

Lee is planning to play a key role in Australia's Ashes defence in July, although the inexperienced pairing of Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus provided solid back-up for Mitchell Johnson in Australia's 2-1 Test triumph in South Africa last month. (ANI)