Oz positive Starc will be fit for NZ Tests

Australia

Australia's bowling coach Craig McDermott says the Aussies are positive that they will have paceman Mitchell Starc back from injury for the tour of New Zealand early next year.

Starc suffered a stress fracture to his right foot in the third Test against New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval and will definitely miss the home Test series against the West Indies over the Christmas and New Year period.

Australia will play two Tests away against the Black Caps in February and Starc will want to be back by then as the Aussies also need their bowling spearhead for the World T20, which starts in India in March.

McDermott told ABC Grandstand radio: "He's got a crack on the top of his foot. He's had a heel impingement which may have affected that, who knows, trying to compensate for landing on his heel he may have put more pressure on the front of his foot and that's eventuated in a crack.

"The good news for us is it's not going to be as long as we thought, so he's going to be out for three weeks and then we can work on him from there.

"Hopefully we can get him up for the New Zealand series and the World Twenty20 where he's ranked number one in the world.

"All the way through England and the one-day series he's had his heel impingement. In the last 12 months he's done an unbelievable job."

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