Cummins has been dealing with a back issue in recent times.
Australian captain Pat Cummins is racing against time to play the first Ashes Test against England, starting November 21 in Perth.
The right-arm quick has been dealing with a back issue in recent times and is yet to return to the bowling crease at training.
Speaking to media in Sydney on Monday (October 1), Cummins admitted that he is more unlikely than likely to feature in the opening Test of the summer.
"I'd say probably less likely than likely, but we've still got a bit of time," Cummins told reporters.
"I'm running today and running kind of every second day, and each runs a little bit longer, and then we get into bowling prep next week. So I'm probably a couple of weeks away before actually putting on the spikes and bowling out on the turf. But it's been a good couple of weeks. Each session feels better and better."
Cummins knows that he will need to return to the bowling crease as soon as possible if he is to play the Ashes opener.
"You'd want probably at least a month in the nets," Cummins admitted. "If you are to play in a Test match, you want to make sure you are right to bowl 20 overs in a day and you don't have to think about it. Four weeks is pretty tight, but I think somewhere around that mark."
Cummins believes his back injury won't be much of a concern in the long-term and he still plans to feature during as many Ashes Tests as possible and lead Australia at ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.
"It's a back injury that I haven't had for about seven or eight years, and I've played a lot of cricket between that," Cummins said.
"So if anything looking back when I was, say, 20 years old and I had this injury, I was a bit worried about what my body could actually handle. But I know in myself that if I get it right, do it properly, when I come back I shouldn't have to worry about it all. And hopefully I can play as much, even more cricket than I had previously in the last few years."
(With ICC Inputs)