By Martin Gough

Australian great Shane Warne will find his return to competitive cricket is just like getting back on a bike.

Warne could soon be back at his best in Test cricket

He may have been out of action for 12 months but Warne's first match for Victoria second XI should provide no worse problems than sore limbs, according to a leading physiotherapist.

Aside from a fun match on the eve of friend and film star Russell Crowe's wedding, the leg-spinner has barely played since his year-long ban began on 10 February 2003.

Under the terms of the ban, imposed after he tested positive for a banned diuretic, he was unable to play organised cricket anywhere in the world.

His attempts to train with state team-mates were swiftly blocked by the Australian Sports Commission, who ruled he could not practise with any contracted professional.

Instead he has been training hard on his own and with friends for the last few months, but he must make a step up from his current regime even to play for Victoria's second team.

"All he will have been able to do is train on his own so he will lack match fitness, which only comes from playing," explains Craig Smith, a former physio for South Africa.

"I suspect he will be a bit stiff and sore, depending on his workload, but that is normal for anyone who has been out with injury.

"There are parts of the body he will not have used in training."

I'm sure he will make a smooth transition into the Victoria and Australia sides Physio Craig Smith

However, Smith believes Warne's experience of regularly bowling over 25 overs a day of Test cricket will mean he can cope better than most.

Time on the sidelines may also have allowed the 34-year-old to recover further from the shoulder trouble that has dogged the later part of his career, restricting his bowling variation.

After playing the last three days of the match for Victoria's reserves, Warne faces a tough schedule to prove he is back to his best for next month's Test series in Sri Lanka.

He is expected to turn out for the state side in a one-day match against Tasmania on Saturday and a four-day game against the same opponents on Monday.

The selectors announce their squad on 20 February, with Warne widely tipped for an immediate return to tour a country which heavily favours slow bowlers.

According to Smith, there is no hard and fast rule over how quickly players return to top form but he has no doubt Warne will soon be back for Australia.

"I'm sure he will make a smooth transition into the Victoria and Australia sides," he told BBC Sport.

Warne struggled during his last Test series in India

"You can't put an objective time on it - it varies from individual to individual - but an absolute elite player would take a far shorter time because of the skill level.

"And when he takes a few wickets and gets a bit more confidence that will provide a physical boost."

In terms of wickets, Warne is the most successful spinner ever, with 491 Test scalps.

Sri Lanka is a happy hunting ground - he took 11 wickets against Pakistan last October in a match moved to Colombo because of safety concerns.

But a far bigger challenge will come his way in October, when Australia tour India.

Victory in India is the one thing that has eluded the Australia side of the modern era, and Warne's form on the last tour there was so poor there were suggestions he could retire.

Smith adds: "India will be a huge test because he has never done well there and he will have a heavy workload in hot conditions.

"But it is in the nature of the man that he will rise to the challenge."