Lee unlikely for Boxing Day Test

SYDNEY - Australian medical staff are unlikely to risk injured fast bowler Brett Lee in the fourth Test against the West Indies starting in Melbourne on Boxing Day.

Lee will fly to Melbourne tomorrow to join the rest of the Australian squad knowing he is at long odds to play.

The world's fastest bowler is keen to play but will be guided by a series of "clinical" tests on his injured back under team doctor Trefor James and physiotherapist Errol Alcott.

If he shows any signs of discomfort, he will immediately be scratched from the Australian squad.

Lee's fitness tests will not involve any bowling, with medical staff putting him through a range of movements to see whether he feels any pressure on the spine or joints.

"I don't think he's at great odds of starting," Alcott said.

"If we assess him and he's not quite right and he needs a bit more time we won't be risking him."

If that is the case, officials would seem unlikely to risk him in the fifth Test of the series in Sydney which starts only three days after the Melbourne Test.

Officials would be reluctant to take any chances with the fast bowling sensation, who has a history of back problems.

Lee has been left to his own devices since Australian medical staff discovered a stress reaction in the L3 vertebra in his back after the second Test in Perth.

The bowler himself is reluctant to talk about the injury which has dominated the headlines over the past week. However, his manager Neil Maxwell today said Lee was champing at the bit to play.

"He hasn't felt any pain from day one," Maxwell said.

"But he's happy to listen to medical staff and if they want him to take it easy he will."

Lee made his Test debut in last year's Boxing Day Test against India, taking a wicket with his fourth ball and decimating the Indian innings with a five wicket haul.

The Australian tour of India in February/March is likely to take precedence over what amounts to little more than two dead Tests against the Windies and the chance to extend the team's record winning streak.

"It's a matter of how he presents clinically," Alcott said.

"We'll just sit down and assess where he is."

Captain Steve Waugh is almost certain to play after overcoming his buttock injury.

Waugh will also have a series of fitness tests leading into the Test, with officials keen to give him until the last minute to take his place in the side.