Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming on Wednesday (April 12) revealed that skipper MS Dhoni is nursing a knee injury.

Fleming's comments came after CSK’s narrow three-run defeat against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at MA Chidambaram Stadium.

"He (Dhoni) is nursing a knee injury, which you can see in some of his movement, hindering him somewhat. His fitness has been professional. He comes in months before the tournament starts. He does some nets in Ranchi, but his main pre-season is a month before he comes to Chennai," Fleming said in the post-match press conference.

Needing 21 from the last over, Dhoni smashed two sixes in the first three balls of Sandeep Sharma but was not able to hit a boundary or six in the final ball of the over, when the Super Kings required 5 off the last delivery.

Batting at No. 8, Dhoni eventually returned with 32 not out off 17 balls and his knock was studded with 1 four and 3 sixes.

Fleming, though, is confident that Dhoni will manage his injury well and will continue to lead the side.

"He works his way back into match form, and you can still see he is playing pretty well. So we always have confidence about how he manages himself. He always keeps himself up to speed," he said.

During the nail-biting match, CSK pacer Sisanda Magala also suffered a split webbing, adding to the injury worries of the four-time champions.

Notably, ace all-rounder Ben Stokes sustained a toe injury while practising ahead of CSK’s match against MI last Saturday (April 8) while pacer Deepak Chahar picked up a hamstring injury in the first over and didn’t bowl afterwards.

"For us again, it's losing another player -- that's two games in a row -- and we're already pretty thin, so we'd like it (injuries) to stop," the CSK coach said on Magala’s injury.

“Magala's hand was split unfortunately, so he was unable to bowl those last two overs. And same with Deepak Chahar in the last game, so we're operating on pretty thin resources. But we're not the only team to have that."

"I think a lot of players coming out of a big domestic season are a little bit broken, but we just keep having to find solutions," Fleming added.

"So we'll do that in the next four days. But, yeah, it's not ideal yet. The captain has to then think on his feet (if bowlers keep getting injured). Moeen Ali had to come back (after Magala hurt his webbing), and he hadn't had a great day but he got the wicket of (Jos) Buttler which was good.

"And you've got young players like Akash (Singh) who is coming in for his first game, having to bowl some key overs. It's not how we plan, but T20 very rarely goes to plan," he further stated.

Fleming said Sri Lanka pacer Matheesha Pathirana, who was diagnosed Covid-19 positive in New Zealand, has recovered and is available for selection now.

"Chahar is out for a few weeks. Magala is out for two weeks. Stokes is being monitored on a day-to-day basis. Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana tested positive for Covid-19 in NZ and has recovered and is available for selection now. We did not want to rush him back for this game."

Chennai Super Kings will next face Royal Challengers Bangalore at Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 17.

(With PTI Inputs)