Justin Langer has 'absolutely no worries' about David Warner after opening batsman declared fit for Boxing Day Test

Australia were handed a boost before the Boxing Day Test after opening batsman David Warner was declared fit to face New Zealand despite being hit on the hand while batting in the nets on Monday. Warner was assessed by the Australian medical department after he was struck on the thumb. Though looking visibly uncomfortable, he returned later rejoined his teammates with his hand strapped. Australia coach Justin Langer said he had "absolutely no worries" that Warner will be "raring to go" when the action kicks off on Thursday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. "There was a little concern for about two seconds, but then he saw the doctor and he's hitting balls again," Langer told reporters Tuesday. "We know how well he's playing at the moment, we know how much all the boys love playing Test cricket and Boxing Day cricket ... so he'll be ready to go." Warner faced about 45 minutes of throw-downs on Tuesday, according to local media reports, although he did appear at times to be in pain and took his hand off the bat. Langer said that fast bowler James Pattinson is almost certain to make his first Test appearance on home soil in nearly four years for the injured Josh Hazlewood. Hazlewood sustained a hamstring injury during the crushing 296-run first Test victory over the Black Caps in Perth to give Australia a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series. Pattinson, 29, is likely to partner Mitchell Starc, who took nine New Zealand wickets in the Perth pink-ball Test, and Pat Cummins for his first Test in Australia since January 2016. "I've said it all week, he [Pattinson] was the 12th man the last game, we try to be as consistent as possible," Langer said. "We've got some great depth of talent there, we've got Michael Neser here, we've got Peter Siddle, James Pattinson so I think at this stage, Patto will probably get one of the nods." Langer mooted last week selecting five specialist bowlers with the MCG pitch favouring batsmen in the previous two years, but said on Tuesday finalising the starting XI could be a match-day decision. "We'll work out what the set-up of our team is going to be, whether we play ... an extra bowler or not," he said. "We'll have a look at the wicket. The wicket looks pretty good at the moment two days out." The MCG pitch will be scrutinised heavily after a first-class game between Western Australia and Victoria was abandoned earlier this month because it was considered dangerous. Groundsman Matt Page, however, told reporters this week the wicket for the Boxing Day Test would be a fair contest between bat and ball

Justin Langer has 'absolutely no worries' about David Warner after opening batsman declared fit for Boxing Day Test

Warner was assessed by the Australian medical department after he was struck on the thumb but has been passed fit to face New Zealand in Melbourne