Dubai: Australian skipper Michael Clarke may have been ruled out from playing in the One-day series against Pakistan, the star batsman will fly in early to Dubai to be fit for the Test series.

The preparation for the high-profile series between Pakistan and Australia has already begun across the venues while Dubai Sport City’s International Academy will be the base for Clarke’s rehabilitation.

With Pakistan too expected to fly in soon to get acclimatised to the conditions here, talks are on for two warm-up matches between UAE and Pakistan in Sharjah. The dates for the warm-up matches in Sharjah are yet to be finalised but will be held before the start of the only Twenty20 match between Pakistan and Australia on October 5 in Dubai.

Clarke will fly in on September 30 to prepare for the series. Though he was forced to return home from Australia’s recent tour of Zimbabwe with a hamstring injury which is also linked to his chronic back problem, has been undergoing rehabilitation sessions in Sydney.

The decision to fly in Clarke early has been taken by Australian team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris, who is overseeing his travel plan as he believes that the skipper’s travel to UAE will be a key factor in his regaining fitness. Kountouris even revealed that Clarke had struggled with injuries immediately after long-haul flights.

Speaking to Cricket Australia’s web site, Clarke commented on the importance of flying early to Dubai: “It’s going to take some time to work out what’s perfect for me but we believe getting there [the UAE] a couple of days before everybody else and allowing my body to acclimatise and recover after a long plane flight is a good start. So I’m flying over on the 30th to give myself every opportunity to be fit and if I thought I wasn’t going to be fit [for the first Test] I wouldn’t even get on that plane.”

Clarke will continue his rehabilitation sessions at the ICC Academy under the watchful eyes of Kountouris “In overall terms, I feel as fit and as healthy as I’ve ever felt and I’m only 33 so I feel I’ve got a lot of cricket left in my body,” remarked Clarke.

In the light of Shane Watson having to miss the entire UAE series, fans here are hoping to see Clarke in action.

“When we get closer to the date of that first Test we’ll able to assess where I’m at and hopefully I’ve done everything he [Kountouris] has asked of me and he’ll give me the all-clear to walk out there and be able to perform.”

The first Test begins from October 22 in Dubai International Stadium.