With Sachin Tendulkar set to miss the second India vs South Africa Test in Ahmedabad due to injury, here is a little flashback from the recent past. At the end of the long and hectic Australia series, Team India’s outgoing physiotherapist John Gloster had advised a minimum of two weeks rest for Tendulkar due to “tendonitis of the right hip”. According to Gloster, the injury could be aggravated in case the batsman continued playing.

Emphasising the importance of a break from cricket, Gloster had said in his report: “Tendulkar must not allow this condition to settle into a chronic phase, otherwise it may take a further two weeks to control. It is only when the pain settles that he can start deep-release massage. Once he is pain-free, he can commence basic training but initially only in water.”

When Tendulkar was questioned about his fitness at the launch of Indian Premier League (IPL’s) Mumbai Indians on March 8, he had said: “I am completely fit and am looking forward to the series against South Africa and after that the IPL.”

Incidentally, Tendulkar wasn’t called for the fitness test at National Cricket Academy in Bangalore before the selection for the squad for the Chennai Test. BCCI asked Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni and Anil Kumble to prove their fitness at the NCA. And it was only after a report was submitted by the new support staff members of Team India — trainer Paul Chapman and physio Paul Close — that they were included in the Test squad.

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