Clarke faces 'race against time'

Michael Clarke's back remains a worry for Australia © Getty Images

Michael Clarke faces "a race against time" to be fit for Australia's opening Champions Trophy match against England on Saturday.

Clarke did not feature in either of the two warm-up matches against West Indies and India after his long-standing back problem flared up. He was sent to London to be assessed by a specialist and remained there on Thursday for further treatment.

A decision on his participation at Edgbaston is likely to be taken later on Friday although could come sooner if no improvement is noticed. As of Thursday afternoon, Clarke was still experiencing pain.

Alex Kountoris, the Australia physio, said: "We're hoping to make a decision on him reasonably quickly. He's been in London since yesterday to do the treatment that he usually gets.

"We are trying to maximise the time he has got over there so sometime tonight or tomorrow we'll make that decision.

"We are just trying to get him right. He has had this before so we know how it plays out and we know the treatment that he needs to get him right. But being such a short tournament we're racing against time to get him fit.

"We certainly won't be taking any risks. It is a really important time of the year for us, that goes without saying.

"This is an important tournament too so we'll get him up for whatever games we can and won't take any stupid risks. Firstly he needs to be pain free, which he's not at the moment.

"Then we need to put him through a series of tests, get him running and batting and get him doing things he'd normally do. We need him training at full intensity before we get him on the park."

Earlier this year the problem, which Clarke has had since he was a teenager, forced him to return home early from Australia's 4-0 Test series drubbing in India.

"He gets little tiny setbacks and we manage them and they get better in a day or two days," Kountouris said. "We're just hoping this is no different in this case.

"He was disappointed when it first happened but he's a pretty resilient guy and he is just focused on what he has to do. He's really motivated and professional about how he goes about about his rehab."

If Clarke does not recover in time to face England then George Bailey, Australia's Twenty20 captain, would lead the side.

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