Australian allrounder Shane Watson is set to make his long-awaited return from injury for club side Sutherland in a Twenty20 match this Sunday.
Watson hasn't played cricket since the Indian Premier League in May, after being ruled out of Australia's tours of Zimbabwe and the UAE with ongoing complications from stepping on a ball at training.
Originally it was an ankle injury which sidelined the 33-year-old for the one-day tri-series in Zimbabwe and then related calf soreness kept him out of Australia's current internationals against Pakistan.
However, Watson revealed he's on the road back to full fitness and plans to play for Sutherland against St George in a T20 clash at Coogee Oval on Sunday.
"If everything goes well this week I should be available to play a game on Sunday for my club team," he said.
"I'm very excited to be back playing.
"It's the biggest break I've had in three or four years so I'm really itching to get back.
"It's been a pretty slow process coming back after standing on the ball (in August)."
Watson started bowling off a few steps in the nets on Monday, however he's still a while off rolling the arm over in a match.
But Watson hopes to bat at the top of the order for Sutherland and there's a chance he could push for a return for NSW towards the back end of the domestic one-day cup.
Looking ahead to a huge 12 months of cricket starting with the Tests against India and the World Cup, Watson says he feels mentally and physically ready.
"(The break) has been really refreshing," he said.
"The break I had in the lead-up to the Zimbabwe tour was exactly what I needed. A time to sit back and absorb everything that's happened over the past 18 months. A lot had happened.
"It's been a great break and given me a lot of time to work on other fitness and strengths which I'm going to need and I've worked on a few things with my batting as well.
"If I'm fit and playing well there's a lot of cricket over the next couple of years, so I've definitely made the most of this break spending time with family which is very valuable."
Sutherland were yet to confirm Watson as a starter for Sunday.
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