But after advice from a specialist Smith was cleared to join the training camp in Dubai where he arrived on Tuesday and is planning on resuming batting in the next couple of days. He is Australia's captain for the two Tests in Galle with Pat Cummins on paternity leave.

Smith's scare came to the same elbow he had ligament surgery on in 2019 - which required lengthy rehab - and it was memories of that which were at the forefront of his mind at the SCG last Friday.

Outlining how the problem occurred, Smith explained he had taken a catch off David Warner, flicked it back inside the rope and was then throwing the ball in when he felt the pain.

"Straight away I thought 'oh jeez, that hurt'," Smith said. "That was a similar sort of feeling to when I ruptured my ligament back in 2019, so I was a little bit worried for a little bit. But scans showed fortunately my ligament is still intact, the one that I got repaired. I've got a little bit of muscle damage, and it's a small millimetre of the ligament on the bone that's doing something.

Smith added he believes the issue may have stemmed from a blow he took on the shoulder from Jhye Richardson earlier in the BBL which left a significant bruise on his right shoulder and led to him adjusting his throwing technique to compensate.

While he has been cleared of major problems with the elbow, Smith may be limited in how much he can throw in the field although as he will largely be a close catcher in a series where spin is expected to dominate that shouldn't be a huge issue.

"In terms of batting I'm pretty comfortable I'll be able to get into it and play with some tape on it," he said.

Smith will start the Sri Lanka series on 9999 Test runs having twice been dismissed within touching distance of the 10,000 landmark during the final Test against India at the SCG.

"I was watching a bit there and there was a lot of variation in the spin and some bounce as well," Smith said. "That's the reason we are here in Dubai, we are able to do what we want to do with these wickets, try and help guys develop game plans when it does get extreme. Guys are going to learn over this week and hold us in good stead for the tour."

An update on Kuhnemann's availability is expected in the next couple of days after he underwent surgery on a compound fracture-dislocation in his right thumb suffered in the BBL last week.