Coach, physio confirm Gilchrist8217;s return

8220;Adam did receive a knock on the hand while wicket-keeping last night and while it was quite sore at the time he is expected to be fully fit to take part in Friday8217;s Commonwealth Bank Series match against Sri Lanka,8221; Kountouris said.

8220;No medical investigation has been undertaken and at this stage there is no plan to do so over the course of the week,8221; he said in a Cricket Australia statement.

After Sunday8217;s match, Ricky Ponting and his teammates have returned to home ports and will gather in Melbourne on Thursday.

Australia coach Tim Nielsen too felt Gilchrist would be part of the playing XI on Friday.

8220;The thumb is not a brilliant one if it is busted, it was pleasing to see afterwards he was able to catch okay, he didn8217;t seem to favour it too much, he got hit right on the 8216;drumstick8217; when it happened which can be a bit fleshy and get a bit bruised,8221; Nielsen was quoted as saying by the Australian Associated Press, a news agency in Adelaide.

8220;Keepers are a pretty tough breed as well so he8217;ll be right, hopefully over the next couple of days he8217;ll have an x-ray that shows there8217;s no fracture,8221; the coach added.