Australia all-rounder Shane Watson will not be sent home after being diagnosed with a minor thigh injury.

It is not yet known when Watson will fully recovered from the injury, but with just two weeks to go before the opening Ashes Test in Cardiff on July 8 his availability for that game remains in some doubt.

"Watson has suffered a low-grade strain"

Australia team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris did not put a time frame on Watson's recovery, but gave hope he could return to fitness in time for the match at Sophia Gardens.

"He has suffered a low-grade strain of one of his quadriceps muscles," Kountouris revealed. "We expect this injury should resolve fairly quickly.

"His return to play will be guided by progress made in the next few days."

Watson had missed Australia's training sessions on Monday and Tuesday after complaining of general stiffness.

That prompted the Australian team officials to contemplate calling up a replacement for the injury-prone Queenslander, however, the results of Wednesday's scans would rule out such action in the short term at least.

While Watson will now stay on in England, his hopes of pressing for a place in the first Test team have been set back by his latest injury.

Captain Ricky Ponting admitted as much on Tuesday after the team for the match at Hove was named, saying: "For him it's obviously a setback. He's disappointed that he wasn't available for selection in this game.

"I don't know if it harms his chances even more for the first Test match but there's an opportunity that's slipped out of his grasp over the next four days."

He added: "Hopefully within a couple of days he's right to start back up and work up on his bowling again."