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Amid uncertainty about Pat Cummins' participation in the 2025/26 Ashes series, Australia head coach has shared a massive injury update on the skipper. The 32-year-old has been out of action for quite some time due to a back injury and will also not be featuring for the Baggy Greens in the upcoming white-ball tour against India that is set to commence from October 19. He is also doubtfdul for the opening Test of the Ashes that will begin from November 21.
McDonald hopeful about Cummins' return
However, despite there being serious doubts over Cummins' participation, McDonald is still hopeful that the pacer will feature in the opening Test at the Optus Stadium in Perth. He further revealed that Cummins has showed signs of recovery in the past few weeks and can make a return to training in the next 10 days.
“Myself and Patty have spoken about that type of timeframe. Or else you start to bring in other risk factors. A: You’re not skill-ready, or 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," McDonald was quoted as saying by ICC.
“There are 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" he added.
McDonald further pointed out that Cummins can prepare well for important Tests despite not spending much time in training sessions and that is why they are still hopeful of him participating in the first Test against England. He also revealed that they will be able to gauge Cummins' injury better by next week.
“One of the benefits with Patty is that he has had the ability to prepare for Test matches off shortened preparations. So if it was to be shrunken down, we’d be very confident that he would still be able to perform in the first Test,' Cummins stated.
“But the reality is, we’re starting to get tight in terms of the times. We’re still optimistic and hopeful, but this time next week, I think we’ll be in a position to get a better gauge on where he’s at," he further added.
It will be nothing short of a massive blow for Australia if Cummins ends up missing even a single Test of the five-match series against England as not only is he their captain, but because he is also arguably their best bowler when it comes to the longest format. It remains to be seen if the 32-year-old will be able to recover in time for the highly-important assignment against England.
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