Cardiff: Recuperating from a muscle tear, which ruled him out of the first two Ashes Test, Australian speedster Brett Lee is pinning hope on third Test in Edgbaston to return to the side.

Lee had began fantastically for the Ashes by taking six wickets in the warm-up but the injury played spoilsport.

"Lord's is out of the question and I just have to continue the small steps in my recovery and hopefully the third Test will be a chance," Lee said.

"It is frustrating and the timing could've been better but there's no point worrying about it. I have started running again and it felt OK but I know it's one of those injuries you simply cannot rush, otherwise my tour could be over."

It was a heartbreak for Lee to get himself injured just ahead of the Ashes but he is relieved that it was not an ankle injury, which he feared could have ended his career.

"I keep saying to myself, thank God it's not the ankle, because I've had five operations on it. I reckon if the ankle had gone again, that may have been the end," Lee said.

London-based Australian surgeon David Connell is looking after Lee's recovery process and the paceman has posed confidence in the treatment he is getting.

"I am getting the best possible treatment and David Connell is a highly regarded specialist with these sort of injuries," he told 'Daily Telegraph'.