Australian paceman James Pattinson is making a good recovery from his back injury and hopes to return to action in the third Ashes Test in Perth.
Pattinson figured in the opening two Ashes Tests in England this summer before he suffered a stress fracture in his lower back and immediately returned to Australia for treatment.
The 23-year-old has now revealed he is ahead of schedule in his race to be fit for the Ashes, and although he is likely to miss the opening two Test matches Down Under, the third in Perth could be a possibility.
“It’s all going pretty well at the moment,” said Pattinson.
“I had a scan on Tuesday morning and came back all clear, so all the healing part is over now and I can get stuck into lifting some heavy weights and start back bowling next week and go from there.
“Third, fourth test could be on the cards.
“(I’m aiming for) the WACA … Hopefully it’s nice and green up there and I can get back into the Australian colours up at the WACA.”
Meanwhile, Pattinson has also hailed the decision to bring Craig McDermott back as Test bowling coach ahead of the Ashes.
“He did a great job with us beforehand. A lot of the new boys know Billy (McDermott) quite well and he’s very good at what he does,” said Pattinson.
“It’s fantastic to have Billy back in the fold and it’ll be good to work with him again.”
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