Sydney – Australian captain Pat Cummins faces a race against time to be fit for the inaugural Ashes Test next month with coach Andrew McDonald saying the pace-bowling stalwart would need at least four weeks of training to be in prime shape for the series opener.

A stress injury to the back had sidelined Cummins after Australia's tour of the West Indies in July. While the pacer has resumed running following scans that showed some improvement, the cricketer and coach are treading cautiously in order not to aggravate the injury again.

“My view would be four, four-and-a-half weeks,” McDonald told com when asked how much time the 32-year-old quick would need to bowl to be match-ready for the November 21 Ashes opener at Perth.

“Myself and Patty (Cummins) have spoken about that type of timeframe. Or else you start to bring in other risk factors – a) you're not skill ready, b) soft tissue injuries then become a real risk.”

“And if you were to do a soft tissue injury early in a series like the Ashes, then it's a long way back from where he's been. So we'll be mindful of all those risk factors.”

The coach said that a few weeks back the chances of Cummins playing the Perth Test were negligible but after some“variables” were incorporated in his training, he has shown improvement.

“It's a big couple of weeks, we've added some variables into his training in the last couple of weeks and had a positive result there. There's some positive signs speaking to Patty over the last few days. He's a lot more optimistic. Those who have been through this type of injury (say) these things ebb and flow.

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