Clarke forced to retire hurt with back injury

Australia captain Michael Clarke was forced to retire hurt halfway through the afternoon session of this first Commonwealth Bank Test after injuring his troublesome back.

Clarke was on 60 when he swayed out of the way of an Ishant Sharma bouncer 25 minutes before the tea interval, the innocuous delivery causing the 33-year-old to wince in pain and call for assistance.

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Bupa Support Team doctor Peter Brukner and physio Alex Kountouris rushed to Clarke’s side, and after a series of stretches and tests, walked from the field.

Cricket Australia confirmed that Clarke had left the Adelaide Oval to receive injections in his lower back. He condition will be re-assessed on Wednesday morning. 

Clarke had batted for 115 minutes and struck nine fours in a pain-free knock, before the awkward evasive position caused his back to flare up again. 

Ironically, the Wide World of Sports commentary team were talking to Clarke's personal trainer Duncan Kerr in the stands as the captain went down.

After re-injuring his hamstring in the first Carlton Mid ODI in Perth last month, Clarke had been in doubt for the first Test in Brisbane before the tragic passing of Phillip Hughes resulted in a reshuffle of the summer Test schedule, which had allowed the skipper time enough to prove his fitness.

Clarke has spoken about the back issues he's managed since the age of 17, with three degenerative discs in his lower back the main concern.

"I had my first scan at 17 that said I had degeneration in my disc," Clarke said last year.

"I have been able to manage it this long, I don't see any reason why I can't continue to manage it for the rest of my career.

"It's a combination of things, my back gets irritated when I'm in flexion and I rotate.

"Sometimes with degeneration of the disc, it can flare up."

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland spoke on ABC Grandstand radio moments after Clarke left the field, saying the passing of Phillip Hughes put Clarke's injury concerns on the backburner.  

"Everyone was working together with the same thing in mind to try to get Michael recovered and fit and ready to play," Sutherland said. 

"There may well have been some slightly different views about what was best in terms of preparation, but really that's all a moot point now.

"Things have moved on, we've seen the extraordinary and tragic circumstances of Phillip's death and we hope Michael's okay and he's back on the ground very soon. 

"It's always a worrying sign when the Australian captain's carrying any sort of injury. We'll leave it in the capable hands of Alex Kountouris and he can weave a bit of magic overnight perhaps."