New Zealand spinner and former captain Daniel Vettori has had an operation on his left achilles tendon to try to prolong his career, team management in England announced in a statement on Thursday.

The 34-year-old left-armer returned from almost a year out of international action to play in all three of New Zealand’s Champions Trophy group matches in England and Wales before the Black Caps missed out on a berth in the semi-finals.

But he often looked in pain while fielding and batted just the once.

“Dan has been suffering from this injury for the past year and surgery was the only option to prolong his career with the Black Caps,” said New Zealand physiotherapist Paul Close in a statement.

Close added that Vettori’s operation in London on Wednesday had gone well.

Injuries also sidelined allrounder Grant Elliott and seamer Tim Southee from next week’s two Twenty20 matches against England at The Oval, while batsman Kane Williamson and wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi have also left the squad.

Test opener Hamish Rutherford and fellow batsman Tom Latham will join the group for the Twenty20 games, along with spinner Roneel Hira.

New Zealand, beaten 2-0 by England in a Test series this season but 2-1 winners in a subsequent one-day international campaign, will prepare for the Twenty20 fixtures with a warm-up game against Kent in Canterbury on Saturday.

NZ squad for two T20s against England at The Oval on June 25 and 27:

Brendon McCullum (capt), Corey Anderson, Doug Bracewell, Ian Butler, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Roneel Hira, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Colin Munro, Hamish Rutherford, Ross Taylor)