Rahul Dravid suffered a hairline fracture to the middle finger of his right hand after being struck on the glove by a Brett Lee lifter on day five of the final Test at the Adelaide Oval on Monday morning.

The blow came 24 minutes into the day, with India trying to prevent Australia from making early inroads. In severe pain, the 35-year-old called for a painkiller and hung on for another 13 minutes during which period he faced a further six deliveries, before deciding to retire hurt as the pain became intense and he found it hard to grip the bat.

An X-ray revealed the crack, and Dravid didn’t come out to bat again, though it is learnt that in a crisis, he would have resumed his innings. It is estimated that the former skipper will take between two and three weeks to recover fully. Not a part of the Indian tri-series squad, Dravid has enough time to make a complete recovery before India play South Africa in the first Test of a three-match series starting in Chennai on March 26.