David Warner has been formally ruled out of contention for the Adelaide Test due to his groin strain, further narrowing Australia's selection options for the series opener against India next week.

With a heavy cloud over Will Pucovski due to a concussion scare in the closing overs of the Drummoyne Oval tour game on Tuesday, and Joe Burns' continuing run of low scores, the coach Justin Langer and selectors Trevor Hohns and George Bailey will be tempted to add the likes of Usman Khawaja or even Shaun Marsh to the squad for Adelaide.

Despite doing all he could to return to fitness in time, Warner and team medical staff concluded that he would not be fully capable of running between the wickets or fielding with his usual verve - two key elements of his high tempo Test match game.

"I feel I have made great progress in a short amount of time and it's best for me to stay here in Sydney to continue working on getting back to full fitness," Warner said. "The injury feels a lot better, but I need to be able to satisfy in my own mind and to my team-mates that it is 100 per cent ready for Test match conditions.

"That includes running between the wickets and being agile in the field. Right now I feel I am short of being able to play at peak fitness and another 10 days will make a difference."

Langer said he was extremely confident Warner would be ready in time for the second Test at the MCG on Boxing Day.

"If there is one guy you know will go well above and beyond that's Dave," Langer said. "He has done an incredible job to get to where he is today and we hope to have a fully fit David Warner at his absolute best in Melbourne."