Sri Lanka's [ Images ] captain Marvan Atapattu [ Images ] will miss his team's forthcoming tour of England [ Images ] after failing to recover from a career-threatening back injury.

Mahela Jayawardene [ Images ] has been appointed captain and Kumar Sangakkara [ Images ] vice-captain for the ten-week, three-Test tour starting later this week.

The 35-year-old Atapattu now faces probable surgery in an attempt to resolve a chronic lower back problem that is threatening to force him into retirement.

"We were hoping that the injury would heal naturally with rest but a scan has revealed that there is no improvement and we now have to consider surgery," physiotherapist Tommy Simsek told Reuters.

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Jehan Mubarak has been named as Atapattu's replacement. The 25-year-old has played seven Tests with a top score of 48.

Sri Lanka depart for England on Wednesday and begin the tour with a three-day game against a British Universities team at Cambridge from April 24.