Thumb injury not serious, Gilchrist to play on Friday

ADELAIDE: Adam Gilchrist's thumb injury is not too serious and the star Australian stumper-batsman will be fully fit for Friday's match against Sri Lanka, physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said on Monday.
    
Kountouris confirmed Gilchrist had injured his thumb while keeping in Sunday's match against India but dismissed apprehensions that the retiring cricketer might miss Friday's game.
    
"Adam did receive a knock on the hand while wicket-keeping last night and while it was quite sore at the time he is expected to be fully fit to take part in Friday's Commonwealth Bank Series match against Sri Lanka," Kountouris said.
    
"No medical investigation has been undertaken and at this stage there is no plan to do so over the course of the week," he said in a Cricket Australia statement.
    
After yesterday's match, Ricky Ponting and his teammates have returned to home ports and will gather in Melbourne on Thursday.
    
Australia coach Tim Nielsen too felt Gilchrist would be part of the playing XI on Friday.
    
"The thumb is not a brilliant one if it is busted, it was pleasing to see afterwards he was able to catch okay, he didn't seem to favour it too much, he got hit right on the 'drumstick' when it happened which can be a bit fleshy and get a bit bruised," Nielsen was quoted as saying by the 'Australian Associated Press', a news agency here.
    
"Keepers are a pretty tough breed as well so he'll be right, hopefully over the next couple of days he'll have an x-ray that shows there's no fracture," the coach added.