Injury-ravaged Australian pace spearhead Brett Lee's career has been left hanging in balance after he conceded that his future in international cricket is a blur following the latest elbow problem.

"To be totally honest, I need to get away from the game a bit to work out what my future holds," Lee told reporters in Sydney.

"I want to have this forced rest now, and if surgery needs to happen to fix my elbow, I'll be looking anywhere between six to 12 to 14 weeks away from the game, which is the perfect opportunity to get away from everything and work out what I want from cricket," he said.

The 33-year-old, who had to leave midway through the one-day series against India last month due to the elbow problem, said he would meet a couple of specialists in the next two days to get over the "excruciating pain".

Lee, whose career is as much about injury breakdowns as fast bowling, is all but out of the home Test series against the West Indies later this month due to the latest setback.

"Things have been tough for me the past eight or nine months. I was injured prior to the Ashes series, but most importantly being six months away from my boy (son Preston), that's been really tough," he said.

"If I don't play another game for Australia or never play another game of cricket again, I'll be pleased with what I've achieved. It's more than what I would have expected when I was the age of 10," he added.

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