Injured Donald will miss British Open

(CNN) -- Englishman Luke Donald will miss next week's British Open Championship at Royal Birkdale with a wrist injury which might require surgery.

Donald suffered the injury in last month's U.S. Open and has not played since, a major blow to his chances of qualifying for a second Ryder Cup appearance in September.

"I first felt a 'pop' in my wrist on the 15th tee during the final round of the U.S. Open, and over the past three weeks I have been meeting with hand specialists to determine the best course of treatment for the injury," said Donald.

"I consider the Open Championship to be at the top of the list of the four biggest tournaments I play each year, so it is obviously disappointing to not be able to be at Royal Birkdale.

"The fact that it is a Ryder Cup year is also frustrating, but you can't account for injuries, and the important thing is for me to focus on what's best for my long-term health.

"My preference is to try and do everything I can to rehabilitate the injury naturally and leave surgery as the last resort.

"After consulting a number of hand specialists, I plan on following a prescribed rehabilitation schedule for the next three to four weeks as they are optimistic about the chances to heal the injury without surgery, but if surgery is deemed necessary, I have been assured that it is a fairly common procedure with a high success rate."

Donald was a member of Europe's last two Ryder Cup teams, making his debut in the record nine-point victory at Oakland Hills in Detroit and playing in the equally-emphatic success at the K Club in 2006.

However, he is currently ninth in the world points list from which only the top five players will qualify for Nick Faldo's team, and now looks certain to need a wild card from Faldo to be at Valhalla from September 19-21.

The qualification period ends on August 31 after the final round of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in Scotland.

Meanwhile, Donald will be replaced in the Open field by American Jerry Kelly, who started the week as third reserve but moved up when Kenny Perry decided not to take up his exempt spot and then David Toms withdrew, bringing first Camilo Villegas and then Pat Perez into the championship.