Tendulkar: How much longer is the elbow going to hold up?

I did find myself mildly applauding Sachin Tendulkar's 34th test hundred. Not so much as for his equalling Gavaskar's record, but for the break in the pattern in his form - only 3 double-figure scores in his last 10 visits to the Tests crease. Sachin has not been normal since his "tennis elbow" came to the fore and this begs the question - "Is this something that he can overcome and continue with his international career?"

True, the opposition was Bangladesh and he had two lives en route to his hundred, it was good to see him spend an extended period of time in the middle in a Test. However, during the end of the day press conference, he mentioned that he had considerable pain during the knock in his arm and that his physio expected him to have some stiffness in his arm as a result of the knock. This thought by itself is a huge concern to me as it means that the tennis elbow issue is not behind him and is surely going to be an issue in the future.

This series does not present too much of a challenge, but Messrs. Shoaib Akhtar, Sami and Kaneria are due to visit India soon and they are surely going to be handful if you are nursing a niggling injury. Also, if his recent form continues against the more challenging opposition and he experiences any pain, I am sure it will leave him with some food for thought with regard to his international future.

Surely, something that has the potential to disappoint a lot of us!