Lee to decide on future in 12 weeks time

Recuperating from the "most painful" surgery of his career, Australia's injury-ravaged pacer Brett Lee says he will take a call on his future in the next 10 to 12 weeks.

The 33-year-old, who is currently nursing an elbow injury, said he remains optimistic about his international career but the final decision will boil down to how his elbow responds to the treatment in the next couple of months.

The injury-plagued speedster, who has played 76 Tests, said he is focusing on his recovery right now and doesn't want to think about what might happen in the next few months.

"It's about a 16-week injury with ligament damage and there was a couple of bone spurs in there that were taken out. It's a pretty decent operation. I've had 12 now and this has probably been the worst, the most painful. This is the second I've had on my elbow, but I'm pretty positive," Lee told

Channel Nine.

"I'm not going to make any calls about what the future holds but we will wait and see. I would love to hopefully get to the Twenty20 World Cup and then just reassess after that.

"But it all comes down to how the elbow feels, and if it pulls up OK in the next 10 to 12 weeks, I'll see how it goes," he said.

Lee insisted that he still has a lot to offer on the cricket field but will have to assess his level of motivation in the wake of alarmingly frequent injury breakdowns.

"There is a heap more cricket left in me yet and I haven't certainly given up at this point in time, but it's a matter of seeing how everything pulls up and seeing how hungry I still am in about 10 or 12 weeks," he said.

In his decade long career so far, Lee has endured injuries to his ankle, which required four operations in all, ribs and elbow among others.

The affable bowler has bounced back each time but has not been able to sustain any injury-free run for long.

However, despite the punishment his body has taken, Lee has time and again refused to cut down on his speed.