'100%' fit Usman Khawaja eager to return to Ashes XI in Adelaide, selectors to take final call

Australia's opener Usman Khawaja has declared himself "100%" fit ahead of the third Ashes Test in Adelaide, but mindful that a decision on his return to the playing XI sits with the selectors.

Khawaja wasn't a part of the second Test in Brisbane as he failed to recover from the back spasms he suffered in the first Test of the marquee series in Perth.

The southpaw said that he trained rigorously last week to put a "fair bit of load" on the body in the lead-up to the Adelaide Test match.

"Obviously hope to play," Khawaja was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. "I don't really know. Obviously, it's not my decision. The older I've got, the more comfortable I've got with things that I can control and things that I haven't. I feel really good in terms of I'm ready to go. The rest of it is not in my control. So, yeah, we'll see what happens.

"I'm feeling 100%. So unless something else [happens], but I felt 100% before Perth, too. It's just one of those things. I've done everything. That's why I was training all last week. I was just doing rehab, which sucks because when you get injured, you have to do more, right.

"I've had a fair bit of load, but it's obviously what I wanted to just get as much as possible and I'm running at 100% again and again. So everything's feeling pretty good again."

Khawaja's injury has dented his chances of returning to the XI, as Jake Weatherald and Travis Head have enjoyed two successful and match-winning partnerships. The newly formed pair added 75 runs in the second innings of the Perth Test and stitched a 77-run stand in the first innings in Brisbane to jolt England.

Meanwhile, Khawaja has copped plenty of stick for choosing to play golf in the lead-up to the Perth Test, as many pundits argued that it exacerbated his back issues.

The ball now rests in the court of the selection panel, whether Khawaja gets a shot to mute his detractors.