Adelaide Strikers import Kieron Pollard has been ruled out of the upcoming KFC Big Bash League season due to a knee injury.

The West Indies allrounder was playing in South Africa's domestic Twenty20 competition this week when he injured his right knee while turning quickly to field a ball.

He still managed to bat in the second innings, scoring an unbeaten 22 off 13 balls, but was subsequently ruled out of the remainder of the tournament and on Wednesday the Strikers confirmed he would also miss BBL|05.

Pollard will now fly to the United States to see a specialist and assess the extent of the injury.

The Strikers, who announced the signing of England allrounder Adil Rashid earlier this week, will now seek to find another international signing ahead of their season opener on December 18.

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"This is obviously terrible news and our first concern is that Kieron can make a full recovery from his injury," said the SACA's High Performance General Manager Tim Nielsen .

"He’s become a regular at Adelaide Oval and I’m sure both our fans and players will be devastated not to see him in Strikers’ colours.

"Kieron is a unique player because he has all-round ability as a batsman, bowler and fielder, so it’s going to be difficult to replace him but we’re investigating all options and will try to find the best fit for the team," Nielsen said.

"Our first match against the Melbourne Stars is less than four weeks away now, so there’s a lot of work to do but we’re confident we can find a suitable replacement."

Pollard played four matches for the Strikers in BBL|04, scoring 28 runs and playing a starring role in one of the best catches of the season against the Brisbane Heat.

Watch: Pollard and Head combine for a classic catch

In addition to the international replacement signing, the Strikers also have two local signings still to be announced.