Atapattu forced overseas with back problem

Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu was due to travel abroad yesterday for medical treatment on a troublesome back injury which has plagued his 15-year international career.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) sources said that the injury recurred during a training session as the Sri Lankan squad was preparing for the visit of West Indies for a two-Test series followed by a one-day triangular, also including India, starting in July.

"Atapattu has been suffering from unbearable pain from a back injury and has been forced to seek medical treatment abroad," said SLC CEO Duleep Mendis yesterday. Mendis said that the Sri Lankan captain's progress would be closely monitored by SLC.

Last year, shortly before Sri Lanka left on the tour to Australia, Atapattu complained of a back injury as a result of practicing indoors on the bowling machine, due to bad weather.

"The time between balls is so small that while you are batting you don't realise it. It was some time after practice that I started to feel some kind of stiffness in my back," Atapattu said at the time, "When you are batting you sometimes tend to forget little things like that."

He also claimed that the back pains were a problem that he has had to deal with for most of his career. "It was worse in 2002 when Alex Kountouri (the team's former physio) and someone called Shaun put me right with some treatment."

Atapattu, 34, and a veteran of 81 Tests and 225 one-day internationals recently criticised the heavy schedule his country will face in the next 12 months. He said that it would be hard on his players and not do any good to their fitness going through such a weighty program. Sri Lanka are due to play 15 Tests and 42 one-day internationals within this period.