A gaping and raw gash to Mitchell Starc’s left shin isn’t going to stop him from playing in the first Test against the Proteas on Thursday.

Starc’s place in the lineup for the first Test against the Proteas in Perth on Thursday has been confirmed with the news that he will wear a protective leg brace when he fields.

The paceman revealed on Tuesday that the cut he sustained on the metal base of a piece of practice equipment during a training session last month is still yet to have healed over. The cut came within millimetres of damaging his patella tendon, and has been forced to find ways of losing skin when he has to dive on the field.

‘It’s still open, I need to clean it every day, put a patch on it and away you go,’ Starc said at a training session on Thursday.

‘It’s not a bad thing, it needed to stretch anyway but it probably just delayed the healing a little bit.’

What’s probably more of a concern is his lack of preparation leading up to the opener, having only returned to competitive bowling in the Sheffield Shield last week. He was, however, a stand-out performer for the Aussies on their tour of Sri Lanka a couple of months ago.

While the 26-year-old was always going to sit out the whitewash ODI tour to South Africa, the freak injury on the eve of that squad’s departure meant he was unable to maintain his training regimen and fitness. David Warner revealed that he’s been quicker than ever in the nets, though, and the fast pitch at the Waca will make him a scary prospect.

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