Back problems and impending surgery have forced Jeanette Lee to pull out of the 2005 World Games, which begin later this month in Duisburg, Germany. Lee, currently ranked No. 4 on the Women’s Professional Billiard Association Classic Tour, suffers from scoliosis and has endured numerous surgeries over the years.

Lee is scheduled for surgery in Indianapolis on Aug. 11, and had hoped to defend her World Games title. Lee won the 9-ball championship at the 2001 World Games in Akita, Japan. It marked pool’s first appearance in the World Games, which is a quadrennial international sports festival for International Olympic Committee members whose sports are not represented in the Olympic Games.

“The pain has just gotten too severe,” said Tom George of Octagon, Lee’s agent. “She really wanted to defend her World Games title, but she just can’t play through the pain.”

According to George, Lee will also skip the WPBA’s August Classic Tour stop in Peoria, Ill., and will not likely return to action before 2006.

According to BCA executive director Steve Ducoff, given the late date of Lee’s withdrawal it is unlikely that the World Games will accept a replacement player from the U.S.