Cautious Cummins in no rush to return

Injured fast bowler Pat Cummins has backed medical staff to take the conservative route as he and fellow quick Josh Hazlewood race the clock to be fit for Australia's Tests against Pakistan in October.

Left-armer Mitchell Starc returned to bowling on Wednesday and appears on track for the two-match series, but Cummins and Hazlewood are no certainties as they carefully manage back injuries.

The pair will have more scans in the coming weeks, which they hope will give them the all-clear to resume bowling again and give them enough time to slowly start building their workloads for the UAE tour.

But Cummins, no stranger to serious back injuries, says rushing back too soon could prove disastrous.

"There's no guarantees with injury, especially a stress fracture," he told cricket.com.au. "It's something you have to be really, really careful with.

"If you come back slowly and manage it really well, it's great. You never have a problem and sometimes the bone comes back even stronger than it was before.

"But if you don't treat it with respect, it can flare up and that's when it goes from being one month away from bowling to suddenly having to re-start all over again.

"We'll find that balance between getting back and playing and being a little bit cautious.

"If I'm 100 per cent fit, I'll definitely be going to Pakistan. There's no doubt about that.

"It is on track and it's healing really well, but hopefully it can get there quickly enough and I can start bowling in the next few weeks."

With home Tests against India and Sri Lanka this summer plus a World Cup and Ashes campaign next year, a major injury setback for one of Australia's star quicks would be a devastating blow in a side already without banned batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner.

Australia's 0-5 thumping by England in June when Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins were out of action underlined just how much new skipper Tim Paine will rely on his fast bowlers in the next 12 months.

There's little doubt conditions in the UAE will favour batsman and slower bowlers, so staying home and resting instead of slogging it out on lifeless pitches could be a blessing in disguise should any of the quicks be ruled out.

But Cummins dismissed any thought that he would be purposely held back for the home summer.

"There's no way we'll be rested," Cummins said. "(We'll only miss out) if we're still trying to recover from our injuries.

"If any of us did miss it, it's great that there's so much cricket so soon after that and we'll be fresh and ready to go."

Hazlewood, who was a late withdrawal from the UK tour when his back flared up, said the results from scans early next month will be crucial in determining his course of action.

"We’ll wait to get all the information in early August and then we’ll go from there," he told News Corp.

"It's coming along nicely. Hopefully I’ll get to the UAE."