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Michael Clarke shuns media at the airport - Source: Getty -
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Australian coach Tim Nielsen says vice-captain Michael Clarke's recent personal leave will be discussed at Tuesday's team meeting, but claims it's having no major effect on the squad.
Clarke left the team a week ago with three games remaining in the ODI series against New Zealand and rushed home to Sydney to sort out his relationship with model Lara Bingle, who was attempting to deal with a nude-photo scandal.
As one front-page gossip item after another hit the headlines in the next few days, Clarke's management announced on Friday that the celebrity couple's engagement was off.
Clarke returned to Wellington on Monday and was met by a media swarm at the airport.
The vice-captain skipped a team function later in the evening and is expected to train with the Test squad on Tuesday afternoon at Wellington's Basin Reserve ahead of Friday's first Test.
Ricky Ponting's squad will have a team meeting before their training session.
"We'll have a chat about it all today. There's no real effect," Nielsen told reporters on Tuesday at the team hotel.
"They're professional sportsmen.
"He (Clarke) is a player going through a personal issue like players tend to every day of the week.
"It's just that we happen to do it in a public forum, pretty much.
"We're all supporting him and he's comfortable where he's at.
"We're looking forward to getting into the cricket this afternoon and getting back to what we do best.
"It's just one of the things we deal with every day."
