Despite a heartening win against world champions Australia, India will be worried about the fitness of Sachin Tendulkar, who has been ruled out of the team's upcoming encounter against Zimbabwe.

The 'Little Master' defied pain after sustaining an ankle injury to score a valuable 86 runs as India went on to pile up 303 runs before pulling off a 19-run win against the hosts in Brisbane on Sunday.

The Indian team's physiotherapist Andrew Leipus said Tendulkar's injury was "not major" but indicated he would have to sit out the next match against Zimbabwe on Tuesday.

"Tendulkar played a backfoot shot, he was on his toes and his ankle went over. I will have to look at him over the next couple of days to see how he pulls up.

"It is not as much the ankle as the muscle down the side of the ankle. It is not a major problem but it would probably keep him out for a few days."

Also to miss out on the match against Zimbabwe are Virender Sehwag (shoulder sprain) and Ajit Agarkar (calf strain). The duo did not play today and by evening Tendulkar also joined them on the injury list.

Well as Indians have performed in the series, injuries have plagued them throughout the summer with Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra and now three more players being sidelined due to injuries

Leipus, however, allayed any major fears on the latest list of injured cricketers.

"Sehwag has an injection in his shoulder. He has a shoulder injury, a bit of rotator cuff strain. It should settle down over the next two days.

"Ajit's break is more of a rotating really. There have been a few niggles here and there and they are not being allowed to settle down. So we have decided to give him a bit of break before he runs himself in the ground." Leipus said from his point of view he would have preferred Tendulkar to have pulled out of the middle as soon as he was injured but said it was always going to be the batsman's decision.

"He has more than likely aggravated his injury by batting so long. We wanted a runner for him but he did not want one. It was his decision. We strapped him so that he does not do himself any further damage.

"From my point of view, obviously ice and rest would have been ideal." Despite the injury Tendulkar was "upbeat", said Leipus.

"He has sprained both his ankles in the past and come back stronger than before. He knows injuries are a part of the game and he is upbeat. He did what he felt was the right thing to do."

Leipus revealed that the issue with Sehwag dated back to the second Test in Adelaide and it was being managed well till the one-day series started.

"He actually hurt himself in Adelaide. He took a ball and rolled on his elbow. He had a bit of bruise inside his shoulder. It was doing okay till the one-day series started. There have been a lot of throws and it has made it sore."

Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said from the other end he could see Tendulkar sprain his ankle while hitting Jason Gillespie for three runs in the second over.

"He hit Gillespie in the outfield and ran three and during the first run he sprained his ankle. "The wickets are so hard here that sometimes the spike does not grip the ground easily."

Tendulkar had initially asked for a runner, said Ganguly, and then changed his mind.

"He asked that is why I got ready and went in. Then he changed his mind. He said unless and until it is absolutely impossible to run, he would do his bit. I support him because with the runner there is always the danger of being run-out."