Sachin Tendulkar may be looking forward to the India-Australia Test series, a chance to renew old rivalries, but he is still a few steps away from being fully fit ahead of the high-profile contest beginning next month.

The collateral ligament sprain to his left elbow — which had, at one point, raised concerns over whether the dreaded tennis elbow had returned to haunt the batsman — is still troubling him. So much so that Paul Close, the physiotherapist at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), has informed the board that Tendulkar shouldn’t take part in the upcoming Irani Trophy in Baroda.

The report, a copy of which is with The Indian Express, quotes Close as saying that the player requires another week “to complete recovery. He has to withdraw from the Irani Trophy match to allow that recovery process and can join the national team training camp which begins on September 29.”

More rehab?

Close has further sought permission to conduct a seven-day injury rehabilitation programme, starting Saturday, with Tendulkar in Mumbai.

Tendulkar twisted his left elbow while fielding in Sri Lanka and according to medical reports then, and later in Close’s assessment report, it was termed a “possible elbow hyperextension”.

Tendulkar was unable to continue in the series after the injury as MRI scans and X-rays confirmed a joint effusion. Also, Close says, “there is stiffness in the elbow.”

Tendulkar had planned to make a comeback and get some match practice in the star-studded Irani Trophy game beginning on September 24. Before returning to Mumbai on Thursday, he had spent the last four days at the NCA in Bangalore where he trained with Close and spent a great deal of time in the nets or planning for the upcoming series with captain Anil Kumble.

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