Wednesday 17 December 2014 08:16, UK
Australia captain Michael Clarke could yet play in the World Cup next year after an operation on his hamstring was judged a huge success.
Clarke has been ruled out of the ongoing series with India after tearing his hamstring in the first Test in Adelaide, a match he went into under an injury cloud given his long history of back complaints.
And Clarke admitted that he was not sure he would ever be able to play again.
But Shane Warne, a close friend of Clarke, said his future was looking better after he underwent surgery on Tuesday.
"It was the best result humanly possible they could have had for the operation," Warne told the Nine Network, adding that Clarke was "looking forward to trying to make a good comeback".
"It's a better result than expected. Previously the World Cup was a long shot - now he's more of a chance given how well the operation went."
Earlier Clarke tweeted that the "surgery went really well."
Clarke retired hurt in his first innings in Adelaide as an old back injury flared and he needed injections to bat again, resuming the next day to complete a century.
On the final day of the match Clarke suffered the new injury while pulling up sharply while fielding, forcing him to watch on as his team-mates pulled off a thrilling 48-run victory over the Indians.
While the hamstring injury has ruled him out of the Test series, it is now hoped he will be fit to play in the World Cup jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand which begins on February 14.ac
