Former England captain Mike Atherton believes that Australia will create more problems for themselves if they recall David Warner for the third Test of the Ashes.

The 26-year-old, who recently made 193 runs for Australia 'A' in South Africa, is expected to be selected for the Old Trafford meeting having been suspended for the first two matches after punching Joe Root in a nightclub in June.

However, while many have backed the idea of Warner featuring in the third Test, Atherton feels that Australia would be opening up a new can of worms should they pick him.

"I think Warner has got a good chance of playing," Atherton told Sky Sports News. "He's fresh from scoring 193, all be it in a different country in different conditions, and if they are going to make a change and bring in a player who is aggressive, as Warner is, it seems sensible to do it now while the series is still alive in a technical sense.

"But we don't really know if he will. As Michael Clarke so often says, he's not a selector these days and he hasn't been given the team by the selectors yet, but he must have some say in the decision.

"[Chairman of Selectors] John Inverarity and Rod Marsh have been here and they'll have a look at the pitch and then give Clarke the final XI and he will decide what batting order to go with. That's another issue for them. Where does Clarke bat? Do they keep Usman Khawaja at three and does Clarke come in at four or five? There are a lot of issues for Australia to resolve."

The third Test takes place on Thursday at Old Trafford.