Injured Michael Clarke may recover in time for India Tests

MELBOURNE: Australian skipper Michael Clarke, who is struggling with his hamstring injury, could be fit in time for the upcoming four Tests against India starting December 4, with reports surfacing that the batsman may not require surgery.

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 that 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 state-of-the-art 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.

He is putting himself through twice daily 45-minute stints in the MedX machine, which he has been using since he was 17 and the equipment is believed to cost around 50,000 Dollars.

Clarke considers the device so important to him he has previously described it on 'Sydney Morning Herald' as a "matter of life and death for my career".