Australia's fast bowling stocks got some welcome news on Tuesday after James Pattinson suggested he could be fit in time for matches later in the Ashes series against England.
The first Ashes Test, where the visitors will begin their quest for a fourth successive series victory, begins on Thursday at the Gabba in Brisbane.
Australia's fast bowling unit has seen a succession of promising young quicks make good impressions before breaking down in recent years.
Pattinson, who suffered a stress fracture in his lower back that ruled him out after the second Test of the Ashes series in England, said he could be available for the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
"I've started back bowling and I'm off about half a run-up and bowling about 70 percent now," Pattinson told Cricket Australia's website.
"Once I start back bowling it comes along pretty quickly and I'll hopefully be right maybe in a month's time.
"Obviously it was frustrating but I'm still young and hopefully I can just use this time to get bigger and stronger and make sure things like this doesn't happen again."
Fellow fast bowler Jackson Bird, who also returned home early from the Ashes tour with a recurrence of a stress fracture in his back, has been bowling for about a month and is expected to be available for the second Test in Adelaide, which begins on December 5.
Michael Clarke's side will enter the game at the Gabba with a likely pace trio of Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris.
James Faulkner, who made his debut in the final Test of the first Ashes series earlier this year, was included but is most likely to play only if fellow all-rounder Shane Watson fails to recover sufficiently from a hamstring injury to bowl.
Watson was bowling in the nets at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane on Monday.
