India skipper Rohit Sharma on Tuesday confirmed that pacer Mohammed Shami’s return to international cricket could be further delayed as a swelling on his knee “has put him back a little bit in his recovery.”

Shami, who underwent surgery on his right Achilles tendon in February this year, has recently developed a swelling on his knee, jeopardising his prospects of a comeback during the three-Test series against New Zealand, starting Wednesday, and even for the five-Test tour to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting with the first Test in Perth from November 22.

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“Right now, it is pretty difficult for us to make a call on whether he will be fit for this series or the Australia series. He recently had a setback – he had a swelling on his knee, which was quite unusual,” Rohit said on the eve of India’s first Test against New Zealand here.

“He was in the process of getting fit – getting close to 100 percent, and he had a swelling in his knee. That put him back a little bit in his recovery, so he had to start again fresh.”

The Bengal quick who has been out of action since the final of the ODI World Cup in Ahmedabad last November, was India’s highest wicket-taker with 24 wickets in seven matches at an average of 10.70 and strike rate of 12.20 at the tournament. He played through pain during the World Cup, taking injections to treat his ankle.

After the tournament, Shami underwent surgery in London earlier this year, and was expected to be back in the mix for the tour Down Under, but the latest blow has set him back further. The pacer is currently recuperating at the NCA.

On being asked about his prospects for the Australia tour, Rohit said India didn’t want to risk him until he’s fully fit.

“Right now, he is at NCA – he is working with the physios, (and) the doctors at NCA. We are keeping our fingers crossed. We want him to be fit; we want him to be 100 percent. More than anything else, we don’t want to bring an undercooked Shami to Australia. That is not going to be the right decision for us,” he said.

Rohit also stressed on the importance of match readiness, citing that the pacer hasn’t played international cricket for almost a year, and it won’t be ideal to rush him into the thick of things.

“He has not played any cricket for over a year. It is quite tough for a fast bowler to have missed so much of cricket and then suddenly to come out and be at his best. It is not ideal. We will want to give him enough time to recover, and be 100 percent fit,” he said.

“The physios, the trainers, (and) the doctors have set a roadmap for him. He is supposed to play a couple of games before he plays international cricket. We will see where he is at after this New Zealand series, and then take a call at what stage of Australia (series) he will be fit for us,” he added.