Injured Australian opener Simon Katich has revealed he is set to make a shock return in time for the fifth Ashes Test, increasing the pressure on Phillip Hughes to find form in the Boxing Day shoot-out in Melbourne.
Katich damaged his achilles tendon during the second Test loss in Adelaide and was initially expected to miss the rest of the summer.
But the veteran left-hander told Sportal on Tuesday that his comeback plans are ahead of schedule and he may be right for the Sydney Test, starting January 3.
"I'm doing all the rehab and pulling up well from the strength work so the physio's pretty happy with where I'm at and actually thinks I'm ahead of schedule," Katich said at the KFC Big Bash launch in Sydney on Tuesday night.
"Normally it takes a couple of months to settle down but it's settling down pretty quickly."
"I've been having treatment on it every day for the last few weeks and it's all going really well."
Asked if he'd be fit in time for Sydney, Katich replied: "I'm a long shot but you never know."
"I will keep upping the ante with the strength work and we might consider testing it with a run next week to see how it pulls up."
"But I haven't discussed it (a return) with the selectors and that would be for them to decide, not me."
Meanwhile, Katich believes Hughes can bounce back in the Boxing Day Test despite his struggles at the WACA.
"It's a tough job over there in Perth. The wicket had some life with the new ball and it was tough for the openers," Katich said.
"I'm sure Phil will be fine in Melbourne."
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