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Australia captain Michael Clarke, who is fighting against time to recuperate from a career-threatening right-hamstring injury has admitted that he might not be fit by the time the co-hosts play their inaugural match in the Cricket World Cup against England on February 14.
"I don't think it's probably realistic for me to be 100 per cent fit for the first game, but I think I will certainly be fit and available for the majority of the World Cup," Clarke said while he was live on air during his maiden commentary stint with the Channel 9 network.
"I think the advantage with the World Cup selection of 15 is you can take a player, if he's not fit you can rule him out of the tournament and bring someone else in. I'm hoping the selectors will give me that opportunity," Clarke further added.
According to a report in the Herald Sun, the 33-year-old said he advanced his rehabilitation, less than two weeks after surgery by getting on a bike for the first time.
He has been rehabilitating his hamstring three times a day, mostly under the watchful eye of CA medical staff — including physio Alex Kountouris and doctor Peter Brukner.
Clarke hopes to begin running again in the first week of the New Year.
Image: Michael Clarke
Photograph: Michael Dodge/Getty Images