Clarke flew home from the recent tri-series in Zimbabwe due to a left-hamstring injury and Australia’s physiotherapist, Alex Kountouris, confirmed on Tuesday that the problem was significant and tendon damage had been discovered.
According to Kountouris, the decision on Clarke would not be made until closer to the first Test, which begins in Dubai on October 22, after a four-day warm-up game in Sharjah.
“Since returning to Australia, Michael has had a series of investigations that have confirmed a significant hamstring injury”, he added.
“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”, said Kountouris.
Brad Haddin would be the most likely candidate to lead the Test side if Clarke was also ruled out of the two Tests in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
