Cummins sidelined until mid-January

The fast bowler Pat Cummins might not play another Test this summer after being diagnosed with a bone stress injury in his foot. Cummins, 18, was a revelation during his Test debut in Johannesburg last month, where he took seven wickets, hit the winning runs and was Man of the Match.

However, he is not expected to bowl again until early to mid January due to his injury, which initially ruled him out of the New Zealand series. The lack of Sheffield Shield cricket in January, when the Big Bash League takes centre stage, means Australia would be gambling if they reintroduced Cummins into the Test side for the end of the series against India, which finishes in Adelaide in late January.

"Patrick injured his heel early into the second Test against South Africa," Australia's physio Alex Kountouris said. "By the end of the match he was quite sore and we had scans done after the game that confirmed heel 'fat pad' injury. On return to Australia, he was given some time to recover and was reviewed throughout last week by NSW medical staff and then by myself in Brisbane during the first Test versus New Zealand.

"By the end of last week it was apparent to all of us managing him that he was progressing slower than expected for a soft tissue injury of the heel. As such we arranged for him to see a foot specialist and had further scans that have identified a bone component to his injury, that was not evident on the original scans.

"We now believe that Patrick has a bone stress injury as well as the 'fat pad' injury. This means that his recovery will take longer than first expected. He is not likely to resume bowling until early to mid-January 2012."

Pat Howard, the Cricket Australia general manager of team performance, said alarm bells had rung when Cummins appeared to be recovering slower than expected on his return home.

"The medical staff took a decision that Patrick's recovery versus previous scans did not seem consistent and proactively made the decision that further scans were required," Howard said. "These scans have revealed a bone stress injury which pushes out his recovery by a few weeks.

"This wasn't picked up in the initial scans done in South Africa. Unfortunately this, when combined with Patrick's young age to reprepare for Test cricket, means that he will miss much of the Indian series."

Australia are already without Mitchell Johnson for the whole Test summer due to a foot injury, while Ryan Harris is confident that he is on track for the Boxing Day Test as he recovers from a hip problem. Australia may need to rely heavily on the young fast men James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc, who made their debuts in Brisbane, during the Indian series.

Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo