New Zealand's Southee out of Sri Lanka T20s

Tim Southee's foot injury has ruled him out of contention for the two-match Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka.

Seamer Southee missed the final two contests of the five-match one-day international series, which New Zealand won 3-1, after hurting himself in the third encounter.

The 27-year-old subsequently went for a scan that showed bruising on his foot and he will miss the T20 series, which starts on January 7 in Mount Maunganui.

"Tim was feeling really fresh after coming back from a break for the first two ODIs, so it's certainly disappointing for him that this has happened now," Black Caps coach Mike Hesson said.

"Tim's obviously a key member of our team and been a strong performer for us in all three formats, so he's a big loss.

"We haven't set a date for his return at this point, but will continue to monitor him and work to get him back to full fitness as quickly as possible."

Matt Henry, who replaced Southee in the ODI squad, will stand in for the paceman.