Jayasuriya facing possible World Cup knock-out

Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya has badly bruised his forearm after being hit by a Brett Lee thunderbolt and is expected to miss Sri Lanka's next game against India on Monday.

Jayasuriya was struck by a short delivery in Lee's first over of the innings and forced to retire hurt as Sri Lanka chased a mammoth 320 runs for victory.

The left-hander - Sri Lanka's highest run score in the tournament with 269 runs in the first six games - was rushed to hospital where x-rays revealed no broken bones in his arm but a fracture in his thumb.

The intial prognosis was that Jayasuriya would play no further part in the tournament but the management are now hopeful that the left-hander could return in time for Sri Lanka's key clash against Zimbabwe next week.

"His forearm is badly bruised and x-rays revealed a slight fracture. We will have to wait and see what happens. It is not as bad as we first thought," confirmed team manager Ajit Jayasekera.

A talismanic figure with the bat, as well as an important part of the bowling attack with his slow left-arm spin, his injury is a major blow for Sri Lanka.