Khawaja went for scans on Thursday evening and on Friday morning, cricket.com.au reported that “although he has not re-torn his anterior cruciate ligament, he has suffered a meniscal tear.” Though initial reports suggested that he might just be able to come out to bat if Australia absolutely need it, their captain Tim Paine said before the start of play on the fourth day that it was very unlikely that he would actually bat.
Khawaja saves the Dubai Test
Khawaja was the star in Australia’s fantastic rearguard in the first Test in Dubai. Chasing a target of 462 for victory, the visitors were reeling at 87/3 when the left-hander, having opened the innings, took charge with a gritty yet fabulous knock of 141, an individual score which he got to in close to nine hours. Half centuries from Travis Head and skipper Paine meant Australia got to 362/8 when time ran out. Khawaja himself finished the Test with close to 230 runs.
The first Test of Australia’s home summer against India gets underway on December 6, and Khawaja would want to get fit for that match since Australia will still be without David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft. However, a cause of concern is that rehab for a meniscus injury generally takes between six and eight weeks, but can even go up to three months.
