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London: Australia's medical staff are nervously awaiting the results of scans on Shane Watson's injured knee, which will sideline him from the opening tour match against Sussex. Though cautiously optimistic - the all-rounder will be available for Australia's second practice match against the England Lions, beginning at Worcester on July 1 - the tourists are concerned enough to have begun devising contingency plans in the event Watson's knee is worse than initially thought.
Watson has endured a wretched run of injuries over the years, and this latest setback will do little for the confidence of the team or player ahead of the Ashes. He was a notable absentee from Australia's last two training sessions at Hove, and was ruled out of the game against Sussex, which begins on Wednesday.
Watson has at the very least missed a prime opportunity to impress the selectors in his bid to dislodge Marcus North from the No. 6 Test position, and at worst is facing another early Ashes exit. His last Ashes campaign ended before a ball was bowled - hamstring problems forced him from the squad on the eve of the Brisbane Test - paving the way for Andrew Symonds to make his Test return.
Watson was struck down with back stress fractures during the most recent Australian summer, and only made his return to competitive bowling during Australia's truncated World Twenty20 campaign. Though hopeful he will return to action in the next week, Australian captain Ricky Ponting nonetheless said the team was considering calling in a shadow player, given Watson's history of serious injuries.
