Star West Australian paceman Jason Behrendorff has revealed his back will never heal fully, but he hopes it doesn't hold him back from realising his Test dream.
Behrendorff has been forced to deal with back pain since suffering a serious stress fracture in early 2015.
The 27-year-old missed the recent Sheffield Shield loss to South Australia because of a flare-up, but he'll return for the clash with Queensland, starting on Friday at the WACA Ground.
Behrendorff remains one of Australia's most-talented bowlers, despite being plagued in recent years by back and leg problems.
On his return last summer from a broken leg, Behrendorff snared the stunning figures of 9-37 in a Shield innings against Victoria.
And in Australia's T20 win last month against India, the left-arm speedster took 4-21 in a devastating display of pace and swing.
National selectors have long wanted to hand Behrendorff an opportunity to shine in the Test arena, but injuries have thwarted those prospects time and again.
So much so that it was recently put to Behrendorff that he should consider becoming a white-ball specialist, rather than risking more injuries playing long-form cricket.
But Behrendorff is desperate to keep his Test dreams alive, saying it isn't all doom and gloom with his back.
"It's the old stress fracture that has cracked in the past. It's not fully healed, and it will never fully heal," Behrendorff said of his recent setback.
"There's a few issues with the scar tissue involved in that, getting flared up.
"At this point, it's still quite raw and so that's why I can have some flare-ups at times.
"Quite a few guys have similar fractures to mine. I think it's called a nonunion - so it doesn't heal completely any more.
"I've been told a few guys have dealt with it in the past and have had good success stories after it.
"They're hoping my back will settle down and adapt a bit more."
Behrendorff said for now, he would not entertain the thought of playing only limited-overs cricket.
"Every young cricketer growing up wants to play Test cricket for Australia and that's still a huge goal for me," he said.
WA will be without Ashes duo Cameron Bancroft and Shaun Marsh, while the Bulls are missing star batsman Usman Khawaja.
Queensland squad: James Peirson (capt), Joe Burns, Brendan Doggett, Luke Feldman, Cameron Gannon, Charlie Hemphrey, Marnus Labuschagne, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Mark Steketee, Mitch Swepson, Sam Truloff, Jack Wildermuth
WA squad: Mitch Marsh (capt), Ashton Turner, Jason Behrendorff, Will Bosisto, Hilton Cartwright, Andrew Holder, Josh Inglis, Matt Kelly, Simon Mackin, David Moody, Jhye Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Jonathan Wells.
