Australian team faced a major blow in their ICC Champions Trophy campaign in South Africa as Michael Clarke was forced to miss rest of the matches of the tournament due to a lower back injury.

Clarke will head towards home leaving behind his team fighting for semifinal berth.

Cricket Australia physiotherapist Alex Kountouris reported media that the pain in the back of Clarke increased after arriving in the South Africa due to which he missed all matches and training sessions.

Kountouris added that Clarke would not be able to play in rest of the tournament as he was not able to recover from the injury even after intensive treatment and he will now return to home to complete his treatment.

Cricket Australia will announce replacement for Clarke in the next few days. Australian team will meet Pakistan in Centurion on Wednesday and they need only one point to reach into the semifinals. The last match between Australia and India was abandoned due to rain and both teams received one point each.