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Pat Cummins has revealed he feared he would play no part in the Ashes as recently as a fortnight ago, before easing symptoms renewed his hopes of returning.
Cummins remains in a race to be fit for the first Test against England in Perth on November 21, conceding on Monday he is unlikely to make it back in time.
The Test captain has not put a timeline on his return from a stress injury in his lower back, but is now running again and hopes to be bowling in a fortnight.
That would potentially put him on course for the second or third Test, with Cummins and medical staff wanting him bowling for close to a month before returning.
But while Cummins is somewhat optimistic on his chances now, he has admitted that two weeks ago he was fearing the worst for the summer.
'I was probably (fearing) the series, really,' Cummins said.
If you'd asked Pat Cummins (pictured) two weeks ago whether he was capable of playing against England this summer, he would've said no
The Test skipper (pictured with wife Becky) is a very long shot to be fit for the first Test against the old enemy, which starts in Perth on November 21
'I was a bit more worried. It's one of those things, you're guided a lot by the symptoms.
'And I was still feeling stiff and sore a few weeks ago as we were trying to introduce a couple of new things.
'I know how many steps you need to tick off with bowling at high pace, 20 overs a day without pain. It felt a long way away a few weeks ago.
'Whereas now it feels a little bit closer, a few less steps away.'
Cummins said at Monday's Fox Cricket launch his emotions had been up and down throughout his recovery.
On one hand, the 32-year-old has had seven straight home summers of being relatively uninjured.
But the back issue that plagued much of the first half of his career has now returned ahead of one of the biggest Australian summers in years.
Cummins indicated the stiffness was now subsiding, and he hoped to be transitioning towards bowling with his gym work in the next week.
Cummins hopes to get back to bowling within the next week as he battles a back issue
Scott Boland will step in for whichever Tests the captain misses. Cummins has shot down English criticism of the Victorian quick
'The last couple of weeks have been good,' Cummins said.
'I've felt a bit more confident that everything is on track.
'There is not much you can do about it. I've got all the best medical staff on the case, so we'll see how it goes.'
Cummins also rejected any suggestion from England they had figured out his replacement Scott Boland, joining coach Andrew McDonald in backing the Victorian.
England attacked Boland and he took just two wickets at 115.5 in his two Tests in the 2023 Ashes, a far cry from his career average of 16.53.
'You couldn't get pitches that were more different to Australia,' Cummins said of 2023 in England.
'Here there is a bit more zip and bounce. He has been playing for four summers now, and every time he plays he seems to be super effective.
'A couple of (India's) guys really went after him (in Sydney last summer), and a couple of guys tried to survive. He proved really effective with both.
'So expecting much of the same this summer.'
