The talented allrounder remains confident an ankle injury will not keep him from bowling for too long
Stoinis hopeful ankle setback is only minor
Test hopeful Marcus Stoinis may be unable to bowl for a short period after he picked up an ankle injury during a JLT Sheffield Shield game for Western Australia.
Stoinis suffered ligament damage to his ankle over the weekend while participating in a warm-up drill for Western Australia against Victoria at the MCG and was unable to bowl during the hosts' second innings.
He was able to bat for WA, with his gallant 85 in the second innings helping to secure a draw, but didn't bowl after he rolled his ankle.
Australia legend Shane Warne believes Stoinis should be brought into Australia's side for the second Test against India, but the latest setback means an international call-up is unlikely.
I would be very disappointed if Marcus Stoinis doesn’t play the next test in Perth. Aust need the extra bowler and all round skills of Stoinis plus the energy & swagger he brings to the table - this would rub of on the team !%E2%80%94 Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) December 11, 2018
Stoinis is hopeful of returning to the bowling crease sooner rather than later, with a KFC Big Bash fixture for the Melbourne Stars against the Sydney Thunder on December 21 his next likely assignment.
"It was very painful (on Saturday) ... I had a scan and there is a tear in there, but I'm feeling a lot better," Stoinis said of his ankle injury on Tuesday.
"I can only only go on how I'm feeling and it's improved quickly.
"I think bowling will be tougher (than batting) but it's on my right side so at least it's not my front foot.
"I'm still confident I'll be alright to bowl."
The Stars' bid for a breakthrough BBL title suffered the triple blow when Nic Maddinson (broken arm), Daniel Worrall (back) and Stoinis sustained injuries in the final round of the Sheffield Shield before the break for the BBL.
Maddinson could miss just two or as many as six weeks of the BBL season after the left-handed batsman underwent surgery on a broken arm on Monday.
The 26-year-old was signed amid much fanfare after a successful stint with the Sydney Sixers.
He made a stunning 162 in his debut innings for Victoria but the Stars are looking for an injury replacement player after he was struck by a bouncer in the second innings of the drawn match against Western Australia at the MCG.
"We've got some exciting talent in the team that will be able to step up but we're obviously canvassing the country for the next batter that could step in," Stars chief executive Clint Cooper.
"The difficulty with BBL is that by this time of the year all eight teams have their 18 contracted players.
"... Over the next couple of days we'll get more of an understanding of what his recovery period will be."
Any new signing must be Australian, with the Stars' international spots filled by West Indies entertainer Dwayne Bravo and Nepalese spinner Sandeep Lamichhane.
Domain Test Series v India
Dec 6-10: First Test, Adelaide Oval
Dec 14-18: Second Test, Perth Stadium
Dec 26-30: Third Test, MCG
Jan 3-7: Fourth Test, SCG
Australia squad: Tim Paine (c, wk), Josh Hazlewood (vc), Mitch Marsh (vc), Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Chris Tremain
India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (wk), Parthiv Patel (wk), Ravi Ashwin, Ravi Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar