Mixed news for Michael Clarke

Hopes remain Michael Clarke will be fit for the first Test against India, but the reality is the Australian captain’s chronic hamstring injury is a ticking time bomb that could threaten his career at any moment.

Clarke has been ruled out of playing Sheffield Shield for NSW next week after scans revealed a complex recurrence of the injury he first suffered in Zimbabwe four months ago.

Team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said on Thursday it was still not clear how long Clarke would be out of action with the latest injury suffered a week ago.

But he was still hopeful the skipper would be able to lead Australia in the first Test against India in Brisbane starting on December 4.

“The first Test is realistic but it’s not a sure thing. That’s the bottom line,” Kountouris said.

“I might stand here in two weeks’ time and tell you he’s still two weeks away.”

While Kountouris said “it’s not that dramatic that he’s going to miss the whole summer” – as some suggested – he conceded an “acute flare-up” of Clarke’s painful and degenerative back condition was complicating the hamstring issue.

Further complicating matters is that fact the injury is near a tendon, a troubling scenario that has led some athletes to undergo surgery.

Kountouris said the priority now was to ensure Clarke underwent a thorough rehabilitation process to ensure he returned to full strength and running before being cleared for any comeback.

But, given his age, the history of the injury and the complexity of the latest recurrence, Kountouris said Cricket Australia’s biggest fear was that he could break down again at any time.

“Once he’s done it once, twice, the risks go up of a recurrence. How we minimise those risks is difficult,” Kountouris said.

“I think what people are confusing is that time is not the magic healer here.

“Unfortunately, he could rest up for five months and come back and, the first time he runs, he can tear his hamstring again … it’s not like you have to wait X amount of days to heal.

“Yes, you have to do that to start with but, beyond that, there are other risks and, for someone like Michael, the real risks for him are that he’s got a back injury that complicates things and puts a lot of pressure on his hamstrings and we know that.

“He is an older athlete and we know that’s a risk factor and the biggest risk factor for having a hamstring injury is having had one before – and he’s had multiple hamstring injuries on both legs.

“So they’re all risks that we’re not going to get rid of. They’re there permanently.”

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