Lehmann expects Johnson, Clark to feature in Pakistan Test series

Both players are slowly returning to fitness after being out injured

SYDNEY: Australian coach Darren Lehmann claimed on Sunday that fast-bowler Mitchell Johnson will play in the upcoming Tests and one-day series against Pakistan in the UAE.

Johnson withdrew from the Twenty20 Champions League with a rib injury, but was part of the national squad that left for the UAE on Sunday. The coach allayed fears that the world’s leading fast-bowler was a doubt for the first Test against Pakistan that starts in Dubai on October 22. "He'll be fine to go,” claimed Lehmann. “Expect him to play the one-dayers as well. We're lucky that in terms of the preparation, he did a fair bit of bowling before [getting injured], so it won't be an issue.”

The coach was also upbeat about the chances of captain Michael Clarke recovering from a hamstring injury for the opening Test. "I'm confident, he's confident — and that's about where it is at the moment," said Lehmann. "The tour game [on October 15] will be telling."

Clarke left ahead of the team last week to ensure he was acclimatised before stretching himself in training.

The skipper said before departure that he is improving from the hamstring tendon damage he suffered in a one-dayer against Zimbabwe in Harare on August 31, forcing him to return home early.

Even if Clarke and Johnson do play, Australia will field a significantly different XI to the one that edged South Africa in their last Test match in Cape Town in March.

All-rounder Shane Watson and pacers Ryan Harris and James Pattinson are all out with injuries.

In their absence, Mitch Marsh and Stephen O'Keefe are well placed to make Test debuts as Lehmann ponders whether to play two spinners on the spin-friendly pitches. “We always pick according to the conditions," Lehmann said. “It's an Australian curator [groundsman] for the first Test, so it could be a decent wicket."