Injured Siddle faces five-month lay-off

Peter Siddle does not believe his heavy workload was responsible for the back injury that will sideline him for at least the next five months. Siddle was initially ruled out for the tour of New Zealand in March but his extended lay-off also means he is unlikely to be available for Australia's series against Pakistan in England in July.

He hopes to start bowling again in three months but will almost certainly have no chance to play elite cricket until the start of the next Australian summer, when he will push for an Ashes recall. Of Australia's 2009 Ashes attack, Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus, Brett Lee and Stuart Clark are all on the long-term casualty list but Siddle said his problem was nothing to do with being overworked.

"It's definitely not the workload," Siddle said. "For me personally I hadn't played much cricket coming in to the last two years so for me it was more cricket than I'd ever played before but the schedule is no different than it has been over the last five or six years. That's definitely not a part of it.

"I hadn't played a lot of cricket for Victoria and I got the call-up and it's been busy but in that time I have had a lot of rest. I came back from South Africa and missed the one-dayers there and missed the one-dayers in Dubai to rest up. I came back from India early as well to rest up in that time so I've had plenty of time to rest up and if it's going to happen it's going to happen."

Siddle noticed back pain during the one-day series against Pakistan but was able to keep bowling until the discomfort became too much. It was a familiar feeling as he had stress fractures early in his career before his shoulder became the major concern and led to multiple reconstructions.

"I had them when I was about 18 or 19," Siddle said. "At the time it was difficult but it all went well, recovery went well and in the end I was back and playing that following year so it didn't hold me back at all. In the end I got a lot stronger, a lot fitter and it worked out the best for me."

Since Siddle made his Test debut in India in 2008 only Mitchell Johnson has taken more Test wickets for Australia than Siddle's 60 at 31.53 and he was named Emerging Player of the Year at the ICC awards last year. He said it was frustrating to be out of action for so long having established himself in the Australian attack but he hoped the lay-off would allow him to come back stronger.

"It will give me a bit of time to rest, catch up with friends and family, do some normal things, go watch some AFL and support my team the Roos," he said. "In the meantime get the body right, get it fully fit and a lot stronger and fitter and hopefully a new and improved body when I come back."