Australia captain Ricky Ponting was optimistic about Brett Lee's chances of playing in the third Ashes Test and even refused to rule out Glenn McGrath's chances of appearing in the pivotal match which starts at Old Trafford here on Thursday.
Lee was released Wednesday from a Birmingham hospital having spent two days receiving treatment for a left knee infection and later in the day joined the squad for their practice session at Old Trafford.
McGrath seemed to have a slimmer chance than his fellow quick of playing in the match having missed the whole of England's two-run 1-1 series-levelling second Test win at Edgbaston with a right ankle injury sustained after treading on a cricket ball before the start of last Thursday's first day.
"Brett seems to be OK," Ponting told an Old Trafford news conference. "He'll be down here training this (Wednesday) afternoon so we're hoping he'll get some good bowling under his belt today and obviously recovers well tomorrow morning.
"Hopefully a decision on whether he will play can be made this afternoon and once he's had a good bowl and a chance to cool down. "But if it means we have to wait until tomorrow morning to see how he pulls up then we will obviously do that."
And asked if he would rule out McGrath, who himself had said he was looking at the fourth Test of the five-match series, which starts on August 25 in Nottingham, as the place where he'd hoped to return, from the Old Trafford fixture, Ponting replied: "I won't say that definitely no. "He's coming down today to continue his rehab work with the physio. He has come a long way from being on crutches a few days ago to getting round quite freely now. He's improved quite dramatically. We are still keeping our fingers crossed for him.
"But with an injury like he's had you'd want to know how it would respond after one stint of bowling. With Test match cricket you have to bowl three or four of those spells in a day. If he has a chance of playing he would have to bowl at some stage today (Wednesday).
The 28-year-old, whose 43 not out almost took Australia to a stunning victory at Edgbaston on Sunday, went into hospital on Monday after experiencing swelling and discomfort in his knee.
Man of the match McGrath took nine for 82 in Australia's 239-run first Test win at Lord's last month and was much missed at Edgbaston where England, twice bowled out for under 200 in the opener, scored 407 in the first innings. New South Wales paceman Stuart Clark, who had been at English county Middlesex, was added to Australia's squad on Tuesday as cover for McGrath and Lee. Already in the party was uncapped South Australia fast bowler Shaun Tait.
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