AHMEDABAD, Oct 23: In-form West Indies captain Brian Lara is likely to return to the side for Thursday's Champions Trophy match against India after recovering from back spasms.

“We expect him (Lara) to be fine for the match although he is still having his back worked on,” West Indies cricket coach Bennett King told reporters here on Monday.

“Different teams have different problems. The West Indies also had a couple of fitness issues, but they are resilient. They want to get on to the field.”

Lara did not field due to the back problem after scoring an impressive 71 against world champions Australia in a Group-A league match at Mumbai last Wednesday.

He added 137 for the fifth wicket with Runako Morton (90 not out) before fast bowler Jerome Taylor's hat-trick completed the West Indies' surprise 10-run victory.

Lara was one of the four players missing in action in that match, forcing his side to depend on a local fielder. Others were paceman Fidel Edwards (foot injury) and batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul (food poisioning).

Fast bowler Corey Collymore had returned home to be with his wife for the birth of their first child. He is expected to join the team before the match.

“Everyone is fine now,” King said, adding his team still needed to show improvement despite beating Australia. “Even now, after Australia, we feel we have to improve a lot,” he said. “We have certain areas to work on. We are looking forward to the match against India, but it is a new game on a different wicket and in different conditions.”

The West Indies have an impressive track record against India in recent months, winning five of their last seven one-day internationals.

“We have some good history against India,” said King.

The West Indies and India have won their opening matches. England have lost both of their games, while Australia have one win after two matches.

The top two sides advance to the semi-finals. - AFP