Warner, Abbott ruled out of Boxing Day Test

David Warner has been officially ruled out of the Boxing Day Test as he continues to recover from a groin injury.

And while fast bowler Sean Abbott has returned to full fitness following a calf strain, he has also been ruled out of the second Vodafone Test, due to Cricket Australia's strict biosecurity protocols.

Warner and Abbott both left Sydney last Saturday to fly to Melbourne ahead of the Australia squad as the COVID19 outbreak developed in Sydney, where the pair were at home recuperating from their injuries outside the team's bio-secure hub.

While neither were in a designated COVID 'hotspot' identified by NSW Health, CA's protocols do not allow them to rejoin the squad in time for the Test.

The pair will return to the Australia squad ahead of the third Test, but Warner's absence means Australia have firmed to take an unchanged XI into the second Test with Joe Burns and Matthew Wade continuing their makeshift opening combination after mixed results in the opening Test.

Burns had been cleared of a broken arm after he copped a nasty blow to the elbow on an action-packed third day of the first Test, when his unbeaten 51 helped Australia complete an eight-wicket win over India at Adelaide Oval.

Wade and Burns shared a 70-run stand in the final innings of the pink-ball Test before the Tasmanian fell to a bizarre dismissal as a shot rebounded off the short-leg fielder for wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha to gather and flick between his legs to catch Wade out of his ground.

Will Pucovski had already been ruled out of the Boxing Day clash with the lingering effects of concussion after he suffered a blow to the helmet while batting for Australia A in a tour match against the Indians at Drummoyne.

Abbott, who would have been an unlikely starter for Boxing Day, had recovered from a calf strain suffered in the second Australia A tour match.

But the 34-year-old Warner, who injured his groin while fielding in the Dettol ODI Series against India is not yet fully fit and will miss a second straight Test match. 

Warner last played a Test match in January when he smashed an unbeaten 111 against New Zealand at the SCG.

Vodafone Test Series v India 2020-21

Australia Test squad: Tim Paine (c), Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner

India Test squad: Virat Kohli (c) (first Test only), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj

First Test: Australia won by eight wickets

Second Test: December 26-30, MCG, 10.30am AEDT

Third Test: January 7-11, SCG, 10.30am AEDT

Fourth Test: January 15-19, Gabba, 11am AEDT