Michael Clarke flying home from India to receive treatment for his injured back Michael Clarke is flying back to Australia to receive treatment for his injured back. AUSTRALIA captain Michael Clarke will return home immediately for scans after a back injury forced his withdrawal from the fourth Test against India yesterday. Clarke watched the first day's play from the Australian dressing room but will leave India today to undergo a series of tests on his back and a hamstring complaint that affected him during the summer. Clarke has battled a degenerative disc condition since he was 17 and will be assessed by medicos to ensure he is at peak fitness for the Champions Trophy in June before the Ashes showdown in England. "Whilst there has been some slow improvement, he is still well short of full function so was unable to train and (was not) available to play the fourth Test," CA physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said. The plan is for Michael to return to Sydney as soon as possible to have a series of scans and we will monitor his progress over the coming days before deciding on the best course of action. We will be taking the opportunity to investigate and manage his ongoing hamstring injury that has been intermittently troubling him since the Australian summer. A decision on his return to cricket will be made once we have evaluated the scans and considered the possible management options. Clarke turns 32 next month and, like any injury, managing it can become more onerous with every passing year. Surgery on his back is an option, but Clarke is determined not to go down that path. He is equally adamant the back problem he has carefully managed for the past 14 years will not force him into premature retirement. "No I don't think so, it won't have any impact (on his long-term future)," Clarke said. It hasn't had any impact in regards to my Test cricket at this stage. I don't think it will play any role at all. Asked if an operation could help his back condition, Clarke said: "Right now, I've been able to manage it for ... what am I now, 31? I had my first scan at 17 that said I had degeneration in my disc. I've been able to manage it this long, so I don't see any reason why I can't continue to manage it for the rest of my career. Australia allrounder Steve Smith said Clarke informed the team he would not feature in the fourth Test just before the start of play yesterday. "He was given until the last point to prove his fitness," he said. Shane was given a little heads-up to say prepare mentally and get yourself ready, just in case I don't come up. He in the end was in a bit too much pain to get into this match and there's a lot of big series coming up and he wants to get his body right and prepare well for them. He told us (yesterday) morning. He was trying to do his part in the sheds like he always does. It's disappointing not to have him out there in this game. With Clarke sidelined, Shane Watson was yesterday ordained as Australia's 44th Test captain for the final Test of the Indian series.