Cricket Australia today confirmed the injury status of Michael Clarke following his withdrawal from the Fourth Test against India on the VB Tour of India.

Cricket Australia Chief Medical Officer A/Prof. Justin Paoloni said: “Michael Clarke had scans that confirmed his current lower back injury is an exacerbation of previous issues he has had with his spine. As always, we need to manage this carefully as there are potentially serious consequences with further aggravation.  He still has pain with basic activities and is not back to full function as yet.

“He also has a hamstring injury that has been a concern for most of the summer and will complicate his return. Michael is having intensive rehabilitation for both his back and hamstring but is still 7-10 weeks away from returning to training and playing. We are confident that it will not affect his Ashes preparation but will know more over the coming weeks.”

Michael’s intensive rehabilitation program will be overseen by the CA medical team and back specialists in Australia.