Michael Clarke will be sidelined for up to ten weeks because of back and hamstring injuries — but Australian cricket chiefs are confident he will be fit before the Ashes.
The Australia captain missed the fourth test against India at the weekend to return home after a recurrence of a nagging back injury.
A 10-week absence would see Clarke returning at the start of June, with the first Test against England scheduled to begin on July 10.
His injuries will keep him out of the Indian Premier League, where he was due to play for the Pune Warriors, and is doubtful for the Champions Trophy competition in June.
"Michael Clarke had scans that confirmed his current lower back injury is an exacerbation of previous issues he has had with his spine," said Justin Paoloni, Cricket Australia's chief medical officer.
"As always, we need to manage this carefully as there are potentially serious consequences with further aggravation.
"He still has pain with basic activities and is not back to full function as yet.
"He also has a hamstring injury that has been a concern for most of the summer and will complicate his return.
"Michael is having intensive rehabilitation for both his back and hamstring but is still 7-10 weeks away from returning to training and playing.
"We are confident that it will not affect his Ashes preparation but will know more over the coming weeks."
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