Champion Australian opening batsman David Warner intends to be fit for the Boxing Day Test.
Warner injured his groin in the second ODI match against India and was ruled out of the Adelaide Oval Test series opener, beginning on Thursday. Joe Burns and Matthew Wade are set to open in his stead.
He is desperate not to repeat the absence on Boxing Day, the biggest occasion on the Australian cricket calendar.
"I am [hopeful], that's one that I never want to miss out on," Warner told SEN radio.
"It's my first missed Test through injury, so I'm obviously very disappointed with that.
"With the big series that it is, it's devastating to miss a Test but I know that the guys who are walking out there today are going to put their best foot forward.
"Hopefully we start the series well and try and win this one moving onto Boxing Day and get that momentum into the new year."
There are just nine days to go until Boxing Day. Warner said that he needed to increase the intensity of his rehab work.
"Hopefully I can get up and about and start running at a higher tempo," he said.
"I managed to get up to 14km/h an hour, so I've got to work towards a max of 26 to 30km/h by next week.
"If I can run between wickets and move laterally and do some ground fielding by the end of next week, I should be ready to go. Fingers are crossed."
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