Pat Cummins closes in on second Ashes Test berth, Josh Hazlewood to return 'at some point' in series
Australia has made a winning start to the Ashes series without Josh Hazlewood (left) and Pat Cummins. (AAP: Joel Carrett)
In short:
Australian coach Andrew McDonald says paceman Josh Hazlewood will be available "at some point" in the Ashes series despite his hamstring injury.
McDonald was more confident of Pat Cummins' back being ready for the second Test after the skipper's net session in Perth.
What's next?
The second Ashes Test will be a day-night match at the Gabba, beginning December 4.
Australia expects Josh Hazlewood to take "some part" in the Ashes despite speculation about the severity of the star quick's hamstring injury.
Hazlewood missed the first Test win in Perth after hurting himself playing for NSW in the Sheffield Shield.
Australia has not provided an update on the 34-year-old since he was ruled out of the Ashes opener more than a week ago.
Coach Andrew McDonald believed Hazlewood would not 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 did not travel to spin-dominated Sri Lanka in January.
"He's working through the first week of his rehab," McDonald said on Monday of Hazlewood.
"I'm not sure that we need to give an update on that.
"Once he gets further down the track and has 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."
Captain Pat Cummins is closing in on a return for the second Test, building up his bowling in the nets as he comes back from a back stress injury.
Cummins on Saturday admitted he feared at one point he might miss the whole Ashes.
But the pace ace has been pulling up well from extended training sessions and could be brought back to further rattle England at the Gabba.
Pat Cummins' net session in Perth showed he was nearing the end of his rehab from a back injury. (Getty Images: PA Images/Robbie Stephenson)
"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 was presented to us.
"It looked like a player who 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."
AAP