Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins race to be fit for Ashes return amid injury concerns

Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins were putting on brave faces as they trained together today as they both vie to be fit to make a return for the Ashes.

Cummins, who had been confident he would be fit to play the second Test at the Gabba admitted at the weekend he feared he may not play at all, while there are greater concerns for Hazlewood whose hamstring injury is worse than first thought and could play no part at all this summer.

Australia coach Andrew Macdonald said on Monday he tipped Hazlewood to play at “some point” during the series but after Australia’s rousing win in the first Test selectors may be hesitant to rush him back into the side with the final three Tests in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney being played over a tight three-week period.

In promising signs for Aussie cricket fans both Cummins and Hazlewood rolled their arms over in the nets at Cricket Central in Sydney.

Coach Andrew McDonald believes Hazlewood won’t miss the whole series despite him being constantly weighed down by injuries in recent years.

Hazlewood played just two of the five Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests last summer, then didn’t travel to spin-dominated Sri Lanka in January.

“He’s working through the first week of his rehab,” McDonald on Monday said of Hazlewood.

“I’m not sure that we need to give an update on that.

“Once he gets further down the track and have some rough timelines, then we’ll be in a position to communicate that.

“I know that he’ll be available at some point during the series.

“We’ve got a little bit of that early rehab to go through to formulate where he may plug into the series, but we expect him to take some part in the series.”

Cummins has been doing extended training sessions and could be brought back to further rattle England at the Gabba.

“For those who saw him (Cummins) in Perth - I did say this a while back, that he will be up and bowling in Perth, and people will be sitting there questioning why he’s not playing,” McDonald said.

“That was what presented to us.

“It looked like a player that was nearing the completion of his rehabilitation.

“The intensity was there, the ball speed was there.

“So there’s a lot of positives there, but now it’s just really building that resilience there, and making sure that we’re not putting him in harm’s way in terms of accelerating it too much.

“But it will be a genuine discussion leading into this Test match, and that may be one that eventuates late for us.”

With AAP