Sri Lanka fast bowler Chanaka Welegedara will not bowl in the remainder of the second Test against Australia, after sustaining a hamstring injury on day two in Melbourne.

The 31-year-old right-armer is also unlikely to play in the third and final Test, which gets underway at the Sydney Cricket Ground on 3 January.

Welegedara has endured an injury-plagued year, missing eight months of international cricket due to a groin strain sustained during the series against England in March and a torn shoulder muscle in June.

The tourists are already without the services of wicketkeeper-batsman Prasanna Jayawardene and seamer Nuwan Kulasekara, who are nursing respective thumb and rib injuries.

The Australians climbed to 440 for eight - and a lead of 284 - on the back of captain Michael Clarke's century and half-tons from all-rounders Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson on Thursday.