Sri Lankan offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan can bowl again after his Australian surgeon ruled him sufficiently recovered from shoulder surgery, the player's manager says.

"He could start bowling, gradually increasing the frequency for the next month," manager Kushil Gunasekera said.

Muralitharan's availability for Sri Lanka's tour of New Zealand next month is still uncertain and will depend on the bowler's progress, Gunasekera said.

Muralitharan is currently in Melbourne where he consulted with his surgeon, David Young. He is expected to return home Monday.

"He (Young) is very happy with the scans. That itself is a very positive outcome," Gunasekera said.

Young operated on Muralitharan in August to treat a lesion which had caused a buildup of fluid around the nerves in his right shoulder.

Sri Lanka plays two tests and five one-day matches in New Zealand starting Dec. 21 and Muralitharan's participation on the tour is deemed crucial since Sri Lanka has only one specialist spinner in left-armer Rangana Herath.

Legspinner Upul Chandana has flown to Singapore to undergo medical tests for an unnamed ailment.

At the time of his injury, Muralitharan held the world record for the most number of test wickets with 532 dismissals. However, in his absence Australian legspinner Shane Warne has surpassed him and holds the record with 549 wickets so far.

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