Michael Clarke’s hamstring injury ‘not that dramatic’, unlikely to miss entire summer

AUSSIE team physio Alex Kountouris has refused to rule Michael Clarke out for the summer but he won’t play the first Test in Brisbane barring a miracle.

Pic of Michael Clarke entering NSW cricket for fitness test at the SCG net

MICHAEL Clarke’s likely return date is a mystery, but the one sobering message is his hamstring will remain a ticking time bomb until the day he retires.

The Australian skipper’s chronic back condition, his repeated hamstring breakdowns and his transition into the twilight years of his career mean 33-year-old Clarke will be vulnerable at a moment’s notice, until the day he retires.

February’s World Cup and next winter’s Ashes might be the priorities, but there appears little Cricket Australia can do to safeguard Clarke from further heartbreak.

DROP LYON FOR GABBA TEST, SAYS BORDER

Time apparently heals all wounds, but not recurring hamstring injuries, according to Australian physiotherapist Alex Kountouris.

Sitting out the entire summer could potentially make no difference to Clarke’s chances of surviving an arduous World Cup campaign.

“There comes a point where there’s no more healing to be done and waiting longer doesn’t necessarily give you any more benefits,” said Kountouris.

“Unfortunately he could rest now for five months and come back and the first time he runs he could tear his hamstring again.

“You don’t have to wait x amount of days for it 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 he has a back injury which complicates things and puts a lot of pressure on his hamstrings, we know that.

“He’s an older athlete and 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.

“They’re all risk factors we’re not going to get rid of. They’re there permanently.”

No time frame has been put on Clarke’s return date, but the facts are these.

Clarke has suffered three left hamstring injuries since mid-to-late August.

Last time, between breaking down in Zimbabwe and returning in the UAE, his recovery period was almost exactly six weeks.

On this occasion the damage might not be as severe, but that good news is tempered by more bad.

The damage is near a tendon, meaning the blood supply is poor, and other athletes such as Nathan Coulter-Nile and AFL star Nathan Buckley have required surgery to recover.

Michael Clarke with Australian doctor Peter Brukner after injuring his hamstring. Photo by Scott Barbour

Clarke has also suffered an acute flare-up in his back since injuring himself a week ago in Perth, and this is adding another layer of complexity to the matter.

As Kountouris says there’s no predicting where all the balls will land.

But if Clarke was to go through the same six-week recovery time he did before returning to battle in the UAE — he might be a chance to face India in the third Test at the MCG.

Australia are hoping for an earlier recovery, even though he’s unable to run, bat and perform other functions at this point in time 14 days out from the first Test.

Selectors will likely bracket Clarke as injury pending in their first Test squad, given he won’t see Kountouris again until next week after names have already been unveiled for Brisbane.

That in itself is promising for an earlier than expected Clarke return, but Kountouris warned that medical staff may be limited in the success they can achieve.

He is adamant Clarke hasn’t been rushed back too soon in the past. — again, because time is not a magic cure.

The bottom line is clear though, Australia need Clarke on deck for the World Cup.

“What we can do is get his strength at the right level, make sure he’s running and running hard and running well and tick all those boxes like we did in the UAE,” he said.

“I would say no he didn’t come back too early (in the UAE). It’s not a good outcome don’t get me wrong but I don’t think waiting another month would have made a difference.

“(Breaking down again), that’s our biggest fear isn’t it. Once he’s done it once, twice, the risks go up of a reoccurrence. It’s how we minimise those risks which is difficult and I think what people are confusing is that time is not the magic healer here. Waiting two months may not make any more difference than one month.”

At this stage it appears surgery isn’t likely for Clarke, and a similar rehabilitation plan as last time is on the cards.

Kountouris says Clarke is frustrated, but his record shows he’s also determined.

Despite his condition, he’s only ever missed one Test through injury, and never on home soil.

Kountouris made it clear that hamstring damage will always be a high risk for Clarke.

But that doesn’t mean he’s given up on finding improvements.

“There will come a time when it’ll be fine and there will be enough scar tissue and the scar tissue will normalise,” he said.

Whether that will happen before the World Cup and Ashes kick into gear appears unlikely.

Originally published as Michael Clarke’s hamstring injury ‘not that dramatic’, unlikely to miss entire summer