Injury not serious, Gilly will play

Australian vice-captain Adam Gilchrist has broken his thumb but coach Tim Nielsen is hopeful that he will carry on for the rest of the series, the media reported on Monday.

Gilchrist injured his thumb during the closing stages of Sunday night's one-day win over India at Adelaide Oval.

"I spoke to the physio this morning, it (thumb) was a bit sore last night and we'll wait to see how he (Gilchrist) pulls up, The Daily Telegraph quoted Nielsen as saying.

"The thumb is not a brilliant one if it is busted, (but) it was pleasing to see afterwards he (Gilchrist) was able to catch okay, he didn't seem to favour it too much."

Gilchrist, who will retire from international cricket after the end of the ongoing triangular series, is likely to undergo X-ray in Perth in the next three days.

The Australians flew out to their respective hometowns Monday morning following their bonus-point victory over India and will take three days off before playing Sri Lanka at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.

"He got hit right on the 'drumstick' when it happened, which can be a bit fleshy and get a bit bruised. Keepers are a pretty tough breed as well so he'll be right, hopefully over the next couple of days he'll have an X-ray that shows there's no fracture," said the Australian coach.

"You'd be a brave man to tell him he's not playing the rest of the series, so until we know more about it, unless it's pretty much chopped off, he'll be right," he said.