Mitchell Starc will not use his injury-enforced absence due to a fractured foot to undergo surgery on his chronic ankle condition, putting off an operation in an attempt to feature in February's World Twenty20.

The left-armer bowled just nine overs of the third Test with New Zealand over the weekend before pulling up with obvious discomfort in his right foot.

Starc's right ankle has proved problematic since this year's Ashes due to bone spurs that have fragmented, and it initially seemed that the long-standing issue had caught up with the 25-year-old, although subsequent scans revealed a stress fracture.

Australia bowling coach Craig McDermott claimed on Sunday that Starc would miss two months with the injury, but - with ankle surgery likely to rule him out for longer - the player is happy to keep playing through the pain.

"My ankle has been an issue for past six to nine months," said Starc. "We have been managing it for a little while.
 
"I had a couple more cortisones [injections] after the Perth Test, it has been managed quite well.

"It has played better than expected, particularly after [the first Ashes Test in] Cardiff.
 
"The foot won't rule me out for rest of the [Australian] summer so there's no point doubling-up and missing extra time with surgery.

"There'll be a point where that will happen.
 
"I will be in the boot for three or four weeks and reassess then. There is no point putting a time stamp on it until the bone heals.

"Depending on how much damage is in there and how much bone is broken off, that sort of thing, and whether there's more spurs or not, it's something I'll look at down the track.

"It's not something that I'm looking at doing right now."