Cricket Australia (CA) has revealed that injury prone all-rounder Shane Watson has been ruled out of the national team's entire series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a calf injury.
CA physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said in a statement that Watson, recovering from a sprained ankle that kept him out of the tri-series in Zimbabwe, has suffered a new setback and is experiencing soreness in his right calf.
Kountouris said that as Watson has previously had similar calf injuries, CA plans to hold back his return to running and bowling for approximately 7-10 days, Sport24 reported.
The physiotherapist said that the unfortunate timing of this calf injury would mean that the all-rounder's preparation for the UAE tour would be considerably affected and he would have been unavailable for the T20 and ODI part of the tour and significantly limit his bowling preparation for the test matches.
Tasmania paceman Ben Hilfenhaus will take Watson's place in the test squad, while Kane Richardson has been named as a replacement for the limited-overs matches.
Australia have already lost captain Michael Clarke for the limited-overs matches of the series due to a hamstring injury and the top batsman is still a doubt for the tests.
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National selector Rod Marsh said that Watson has done everything he can to get up for this tour and left no doubt in their minds that he wanted to push through.
Marsh said that had the decision been left to Watson, he would be on the plane to Dubai, however he added that as selectors they have taken a conservative approach to ensure that the all-rounder has the best chance of being fit for the big summer ahead.
Watson, who has long struggled with his calves and hamstrings, said that he would now focus on regaining total fitness before the busy summer. He said that he is naturally disappointed because he was desperate to play against Pakistan, which is their opportunity to get back to number one in Test and ODI cricket.
After a one-off Twenty20 match on 5 October, Australia play Pakistan in three ODIs over the following week before the first test starts on 22 October in Dubai, the report added.
