Paceman Brett Lee was put on an intravenous drip today for a stomach complaint that has frustrated him in the final Test against India at Nagpur.
Lee fell ill two days before the Test, but recovered his strength in time to be passed fit for the match, which the Australians must win to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
However, the lurgy returned in waves during the match, causing him to spend plenty of time off the field towards the end of India's innings, in which he bowled only 16 overs.
Lee said today that the effects of the bug "feel like I've lost five 5kg".
At the close of the day's play, the Australians had fallen victim to a dose of their own constraining tactics as India rounded them up for 355, meaning a meagre 166 runs were scored by the tourists for the loss of eight wickets in 85.4 overs today.
Indian openers Virender Sehwag and Murali Vijay survived one over before the close at 0-0.
Lee has regularly complained of nausea and loss of concentration, and today he needed a drip to rehydrate.
Australia's loss of middle order wickets today occurred during one of these spells, meaning Lee did not come out to bat as usual at No. 9, eventually filling the last position in the order minutes before stumps.
The illness is only the latest chapter in a difficult tour for Lee, who entered the India series as the world's most feared fast bowler but short of preparation time due to the painfully public break-up of his marriage.
Lee trained especially hard in the lead-up to the third Test in Delhi in order to regain some conditioning, including twilight runs around city streets.
The extra effort could have worn him down a little.
His selection under a fitness cloud as one of only two specialist paceman now appears to have been ill-conceived, particularly with the reliable Stuart Clark sitting on the sidelines.