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.

The 33-year-old’s last previous hamstring setback sidelined him for 10 weeks and Australian team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said on Thursday it was still not clear how long the skipper would be out for this time around.

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

Further clouding 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, history and the complexity of the latest injury recurrence, Kountouris said Cricket Australia’s biggest fear was that Clarke 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.”

Clarke suffered the latest recurrence in last week’s ODI against South Africa but, despite being unable to put a timeline on any possible return, Kountouris was still hopeful he’d be able to lead Australia in the first Test against India in Brisbane starting on December 4.

“But it’s not a sure thing. That’s the bottom line,” Kountouris said.

Clarke has been one of Australia’s finest batsmen and leaders, scoring 8297 runs at an average of 50.59 over 107 Tests.

But the uncertainty surrounding his hamstring injury is weighing him down, with Kountouris saying it would be only natural for self-doubts about holding his body together to start creeping in at almost 34.

“He’s very frustrated. That goes without saying,” Kountouris said, adding that having to endure yet another rigorous rehabilitation process would be mentally and physically challenging for Clarke.

Kountouris, though, said Clarke had never mentioned retirement to him and that the right-hander could play on for as long as he was prepared to suffer through the back pain and ongoing rehab and strengthening routines.

“That’s up to him whether he stops playing cricket,” the physio said.

“He’s an athlete and, like all athletes, they want to play. It’s their profession.

“He’s been battling with this back for 10 years and when he’s had enough and he can’t cope with getting up and doing the rehab and doing the treatment and doing all the things he needs to do, he’ll make that decision.”