Australia captain Pat Cummins has acknowledged he may need to be “aggressive” with his recovery from a back injury to ensure he’s fit for the upcoming Ashes series.

The fast bowler has been sidelined from the white-ball series against New Zealand and India due to lumbar bone stress, but selectors remain optimistic he will lead Australia in the Ashes opener in Perth on November 21.

Determined to Avoid Watching From the Sidelines

Cummins, speaking publicly for the first time since his injury update, admitted missing the Ashes would be heartbreaking.

“𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’˜π’π’–π’π’… 𝒃𝒆 π’…π’†π’—π’‚π’”π’•π’‚π’•π’Šπ’π’ˆ, 𝒔𝒐 π’˜π’†’𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 π’…π’π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’†π’—π’†π’“π’šπ’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’˜π’† 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒐 π’•π’“π’š 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 π’“π’Šπ’ˆπ’‰π’• 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕,” π‘ͺπ’–π’Žπ’Žπ’Šπ’π’” 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 π’Šπ’ π‘©π’“π’Šπ’”π’ƒπ’‚π’π’†. “𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒂 π’ƒπ’Šπ’ˆ 𝑨𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒔 π’”π’†π’“π’Šπ’†π’”. 𝑰𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏’𝒕 π’ˆπ’†π’• π’Žπ’–π’„π’‰ π’ƒπ’Šπ’ˆπ’ˆπ’†π’“, 𝒔𝒐 𝑰 π’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’Œ π’šπ’π’–β€™π’“π’† π’˜π’Šπ’π’π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒕𝒐 π’•π’‚π’Œπ’† 𝒂 π’‡π’†π’˜ π’“π’Šπ’”π’Œπ’” 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 π’π’Šπ’•π’•π’π’† π’ƒπ’Šπ’• π’‚π’ˆπ’ˆπ’“π’†π’”π’”π’Šπ’—π’† 𝒕𝒐 π’•π’“π’š 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’‘π’π’‚π’š 𝒂𝒔 π’Žπ’–π’„π’‰ 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕 π’„π’“π’Šπ’„π’Œπ’†π’• 𝒂𝒔 π’šπ’π’– 𝒄𝒂𝒏.”

Despite the setback, Cummins is confident he can prepare without playing warm-up matches, relying on his experience and conditioning.

Confident in Recovery Process

The injury flared up after Australia’s 3-0 Test sweep over West Indies in July, where Cummins bowled just 60 overs. Following further scans, he has been advised to rest and manage his workload carefully.

“𝑰𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒃𝒂𝒅, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 π‘°β€™π’Ž π’π’ƒπ’—π’Šπ’π’–π’”π’π’š 𝒏𝒐𝒕 π’ƒπ’π’˜π’π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒐𝒓 π’…π’π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒕𝒐𝒐 π’Žπ’–π’„π’‰ 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’Žπ’π’Žπ’†π’π’•,” 𝒉𝒆 π’”π’‚π’Šπ’…. “π‘Ύπ’Šπ’•π’‰ 𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒆 π’Šπ’π’‹π’–π’“π’Šπ’†π’”, π’šπ’π’– π’“π’†π’‚π’π’π’š 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 π’˜π’‚π’π’• 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 π’Šπ’• π’…π’π’˜π’. 𝑾𝒆’𝒗𝒆 π’ˆπ’π’• 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 π’•π’Šπ’Žπ’† β€” 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 12 π’˜π’†π’†π’Œπ’” π’–π’π’•π’Šπ’ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’‡π’Šπ’“π’”π’• 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕 β€” 𝒔𝒐 π’˜π’†β€™π’π’ 𝒔𝒆𝒆 π’‰π’π’˜ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 π’π’Šπ’•π’•π’π’† π’ƒπ’Šπ’• 𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕.”

Currently limited to gym work, Cummins expects to ramp up bowling closer to the summer.

Backup Options in Place

If Cummins fails to regain full fitness, Australia has several options. Scott Boland is the frontrunner after a memorable hat-trick against West Indies, while Michael Neser, Sean Abbott, Brendan Doggett, and Jhye Richardson are also waiting in the wings.

Cummins praised the team’s depth and remained hopeful he will join the attack alongside Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon when the Ashes begin.

Also Read: Irfan Pathan Questions Bumrah’s Workload Management

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