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Clarke may get fit before India series

Clarke, who had to sit out of the ongoing ODI series against South Africa, has undergone fresh scans that surprisingly reveal sudden improvement in the hamstring condition, making his swift return possible.

Conflicting messages from the Australia camp have seen separate backroom staff members claim Clarke will either be fine to face India in Brisbane or could require surgery. Test opener Shane Watson, himself on the comeback trail after a calf injury, had positive news on the skipper when facing the media ahead of Wednesday’s third ODI against the Proteas.

‘The diagnosis is, I think, better than what it was initially, which is a great thing. It’s all very positive,’ Watson said. Even Australia coach Darren Lehmann said Clarke, 33, will be given every possible opportunity to prove his fitness. ‘Obviously, with a Test coming up, if he’d get to play that, he’ d have to play the Shield game before the Test match to make himself available for that,’ Lehmann said earlier this week.

The Australian captain could even line up for his grade side, Western Suburbs, as soon as this weekend, if the verdict from specialists emerge positive. He can undergo a further fitness test in a Sheffield Shield clash for New South Wales, beginning next Tuesday, before being considered for Test selection. Clarke is undergoing sessions in a spinal machine as he awaits findings from medical staff, which will determine how much of the summer he will miss because of his hamstring injury.

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