Warner sustained a groin strain during Australia’s One-Day International series against India last week, but Cricket Australia have now confirmed he’ll miss the First Test.
The absence of the aggressive left-handed opening batsman will be further felt if incumbent Pucovski is unavailable too, after he suffered a mild concussion playing for Australia A on Tuesday.
“Will has progressed as expected and is experiencing mild symptoms of concussion similar to yesterday,” Australia team doctor John Orchard said in a statement on Wednesday.
“He is in good spirits and has been communicating and interacting regularly with teammates and staff.
“Will will remain with the Australia A squad in Sydney where we will continue to monitor his progress.”
To make matters more unclear, fellow opener Joe Burns is in poor form in the lead-up, registering scores of 4 and a duck in the Australia A game against India A this week.
Burns made 57 runs across five innings in the Sheffield Shield earlier this season for Queensland.
The situation creates a major dilemma for coach Justin Langer and selectors Trevor Hohns and George Bailey with veterans Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh believed to be in contention.
The younger Marcus Harris is another contender although he only managed scores of 35 and 25no.
While most of the Test squad will head to Adelaide, Burns along with impressive young all-rounder Cameron Green and a few others will remain in Sydney for the second Australia A game from December 11-13.
“Joe Burns, Cameron Green, Sean Abbott and Mitchell Swepson will derive great benefit from playing high quality against the pink ball in the final tour match,” Hohns said.
“All have enjoyed an excellent preparation for the Vodafone Test series and the NSP believes a final hit-out against India’s bowlers under lights will round it out nicely.”