Australian captain Michael Clarke faces a race against the clock to be fit for the start of the tour against Pakistan which begins in October after a left hamstring injury was confirmed.
Clarke was flown home early from Zimbabwe following Sunday's humiliating one-day tri-series loss to the lowly-ranked hosts.
Cricket Australia confirmed in a statement on Wednesday night that scans had shown an injury to the skipper's left hamstring without setting a timeframe for his return to training.
The extent of the damage wasn't revealed but hamstring injuries often involve a three-week recovery time in a best-case scenario.
Australia's first one-dayer against Pakistan in the UAE is on October 7, giving Clarke less than a month to prove his fitness.
If Clarke wasn't to make it back in time, his master run-scoring ability against spin bowling would be a huge loss for Australia on slow, turning wickets in the UAE.
The hamstring injury has been an ongoing issue for Clarke after he tweaked it upon touching down in Harare 12 days ago.
He worked his way back to the playing field but during his innings of 68 not out against Zimbabwe, he felt it go running between wickets and was left hobbling for the rest of the match.
Clarke has a chronic back injury which makes him more vulnerable to hamstring injuries and Australia will be cautious about rushing him back given the jam-packed schedule the team faces over the next 12 months - including the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The Australians play a tour game against Pakistan A starting on October 15, before the first Test gets underway seven days later in Dubai.
Clarke has already batted away calls for him to retire from one-day internationals even though managing his injury-prone body appears to be getting harder.
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