Michael Clarke’s World Cup campaign is all but over with his hamstring injury requiring surgery, Cricket Australia announced on Monday night.
And there could also be implications for Clarke’s availability to lead Australia in their defence of the Ashes in England next year. Clarke’s unwavering desire to be fit for last week’s Test in Adelaide is almost certainly going to cost him the once in a lifetime dream of captaining his team to a World Cup on home soil.
The Australian captain has suffered “substantial damage” to a tendon in his right hamstring and will go under the knife on Tuesday. Cricket Australia do not know when Clarke will return but such operations usually take months to recover from instead of weeks. With less than eight weeks before Australia opens the World Cup on February 14, Clarke’s hopes of playing in the 50-over tournament appear next to zero.
Even if he was to make a miraculous recovery, he would be short on match practice and his movement would also be restricted in the field. A more realistic return date would be Australia’s Test tour of the West Indies in June and the Ashes series which follows immediately after.
“Michael was assessed by a surgeon in Melbourne early this evening and will be undergoing surgery tomorrow to repair his injured right hamstring,” said Australia’s team doctor Peter Brukner. “Whilst surgery is not always required with hamstring injuries, Michael has substantial damage to a key part of the hamstring tendon and it was felt the best course of action was to surgically repair the damaged area. His recovery and the timing of his return to play will be dependent on the surgeon’s advice and how well he recovers in the coming weeks.”
Clarke’s long-term future is also unclear after he stated on Saturday he may have played his last game after injuring his hamstring for the eighth time in his career. His latest injury is his fourth in as many months.
But it’s understood Clarke will make an attempt to come back from his latest breakdown though there must be question marks over how the rising 34-year-old will recover from arguably the most serious injury of his career.
