Ganguly's doctor Kalyan Mukherjee gave him the fitness certificate Tuesday morning and the skipper would leave today for New Delhi on his way to Lahore.

"He (Ganguly) is fit to play in the third Test," Mukherjee, who handed the fitness certificate to the cricketer's father Chandidas Ganguly, said.

An earlier report from Lahore, where the second India-Pakistan cricket Test is currently under way, had quoted Indian team manager Ratnakar Shetty as saying he was not aware whether Ganguly had been declared fit.

"I am not aware if he is fit and joining the squad today," Shetty told IANS.

The last match of the three-Test series begins April 13 in Rawalpindi. India had earlier wrapped up the five one-dayers 3-2.

Ganguly returned home on April 1 after sustaining a back injury while fielding in the fifth limited-over match in Lahore.

The injury forced him to sit out of the first Test that India won, but he did not recover for the second Test either.

Needing thorough treatment, Ganguly returned to the city and consulted ortho-surgeon Mukherjee, who diagnosed the injury as "lumbro facral strain".

The skipper was prescribed medication and light exercises. "He is 95 per cent fit now and the Indian team physiotherapist (Andrew Leipus) would turn that into 100 per cent with some fine tuning," Mukherjee said.

Asked about the contents of the fitness certificate, Mukherje said: "The certificate is to be given in strict confidence. Please don't ask for details of the certificate. All I can say is that he is fit to play."

Ganguly is expected to have a full-fledged practice session Tuesday afternoon.