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Pat Cummins' confidence shaken after second back scan paints grim picture, deepends injury concerns: 'Devastating'
Pat Cummins acknowledged that his fitness is still being closely monitored in the lead-up to the opening Ashes Test in Perth.
Australia captain Pat Cummins shed light on his fitness concerns, disclosing updates from a recent scan. While he remains hopeful, doubts linger over his availability for the opening Ashes Test against England in November. With the five-match series starting November 21 in Perth, Cummins faces a tight race against time to regain full fitness. He is all set to miss the white-ball series against India next month due to a back injury, but he is focused on getting back for the Ashes.
Cummins acknowledged that his fitness is still being closely monitored in the lead-up to the opening Ashes Test in Perth. The Australian skipper, however, sounded optimistic about his recovery, stressing that he is committed to his rehab and hopeful of regaining full fitness in time for the high-profile clash.
“That would be devastating,” Cummins told broadcasters in Brisbane when asked about the possibility of missing the opening Test. “We’ll be doing everything we can to be right for that, make a few decisions a little bit closer, but [I’m] confident we’ll do the rehab right and give it a good crack.”
The pace ace revealed that he sustained the injury during the West Indies series.
“I was a little bit sore after the West Indies, had a scan, [and] there was a little bit going on, gave it another month, [and I] have had a bit of a quiet month to help it settle down,” he explained.
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Disclosing details about his recent scan, Cummins said that though it wasn't that bad but he still needs to be careful in the coming days
“[I] had another scan on Monday, which was not terrible, but enough to know there’s a little bit there and [that I] need to be careful for the next little bit. It doesn’t feel too bad, but I’m not bowling or doing much at the moment,” he added.
“Sometimes you may just get unlucky…”
Despite the setback, Cummins insisted the magnitude of the Ashes meant he was ready to push the limits.
“It’s a big Ashes series, [it] doesn’t get much bigger, so you’re willing to be aggressive and take a few risks to try to play as much of the Tests as you can.”
Reflecting on the timing of the issue, Cummins suggested it may have been a result of the heavy workload earlier in the season.
“Sometimes you may just get unlucky and you bowl lots of overs in, say, the World Test Championship final and that’s enough to start it, but through the West Indies I felt like it was a little sore but nothing unusual for a fast bowler. But once you get home and everything settles down, it hung around a little bit," he added.
