Shane Bond has been cleared of a stress fracture but his future on the tour of Australia remains in doubt.
Doctors have been unable to pinpoint the cause of the back injury which saw the 31-year-old New Zealand fast bowler forced to leave the England-Australia one dayer atHobart after his second three-over spell.
Lindsay Crocker, the Black Caps General manager, said it was too early to say if Bond could play the next cricket one-dayer against Australia in Sydney on Sunday.
"Shane had a bone scan done today and it's come back negative which is good news. With Shane and his history it's one of the first things we want to look at.
"He's a bit sore and we've got a course of anti-inflammatories to settle the injury down then we'll start working with him again, just light stuff. Today he's just working gently in the pool.
"We'll start getting him back into work, racehorse style, and if he does suffer any further reaction beyond then, we'll do some further investigation as to whether it's a disc problem or other things happening."
Mr Crocker said he would remain with the team while doctors and physios tried to work out what was the problem.
"We've been down this path with him before, had bone scans, and it's a big exhalation of air for Shane and all of us when we know it's not that dreaded stress fracture.
"He's delighted that it's not that, but equally he's wanting to know what it is. We now know what it isn't, but Shane shares the frustration as to what it actually is."
- NZHERALD REPORTER
