Katich eyes Sydney return

Injured Australia opener Simon Katich claims he could be fit in time for the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney.

Katich, 35, was initially ruled out for the remainder of the series after damaging his Achilles tendon during the second Test defeat in Adelaide but has now revealed he could be fit in time to return for the final Test on January 3 after making good progress with his recovery.

"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. "You can't really put a date on it because with tendon injuries you never know until you fully test them, but if I test it next week and pull up well then who knows.

"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. I'm a long shot [for Sydney] but you never know."

Though Katich is confident of the progress he's making he has not spoken to the Australian selectors. "I am doing everything I can to get it right so we'll wait and see.

"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 with the selectors and that would be for them to decide, not me."

A possible return to fitness heaps the pressure on his replacement, Phillip Hughes, who came into the side for the third Test out of form and only contributed scores of 2 and 12 in Australia's 267-run win. Hughes has another chance to impress in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and Katich backed him to come good. "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."