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Melbourne: Australia skipper Michael Clarke has been ruled out of the upcoming one-day international series against Pakistan in the UAE.
Clarke injured his hamstring at training prior to Australia's first match of the recent tri-series in Zimbabwe, then aggravated the problem in his first game of the tour, and scans have since revealed tendon damage in the affected area.
Speaking to the official website of Cricket Australia, physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said, "Since returning to Australia, Michael has had a series of investigations that have confirmed a significant hamstring injury. Importantly, the scans have demonstrated tendon damage which complicates the recovery from this injury. As such, he will not recover in time to be available for the ODI series in the UAE. We are hopeful that he will be available for the Test series but this will be determined at a date closer to the first Test," he said.
Following the injury, there were questions regarding Clarke's future in ODIs but he vehemently brushed aside the suggestion that he was going to retire from ODI cricket. In the aftermath of the hamstring injury, Clarke was pondering to depart for overseas tours earlier than his teammates. Clarke remarked at that time, "It's hard for me to look any further down the track than where I am today but I love the game as much as I ever have and the last thing I am thinking about is retiring."
Clarke could play in the four-day game against Pakistan A starting Oct 15. "You can't be confident about Michael, but he has only missed one game in over 100 (Tests). He is doing intensive rehabilitation work in Sydney, but has not yet started running or batting," Chairman of selectors Rod Marsh had said last week while announcing the squads for the UAE tour.
The Australian captain is expected to travel with the ODI team as scheduled.
