Graham Thorpe will wait until the end of this week before making a decision about his fitness for the Fourth Test at Headingley beginning on August 16.

And captain Nasser Hussain, who is playing for Essex seconds, is hoping to be declared fit this week to return against the Australians.

Thorpe has been out since breaking the little finger of his left hand when he was hit by Brett Lee in the Second Test defeat at Lord's.

So far Thorpe has been hitting tennis balls as he begins his comeback attempt and plans to play in the nets later this week before the selectors name their squad for Headingley on Sunday.

"My hand injury is healing, but at the moment there is still a bit of swelling where the ball struck me and it feels tight in a glove," revealed Thorpe in his column for Channel 4's website cricket4.com.

"I've had the splint off for a week and on Monday I started hitting tennis balls without suffering any reaction and the next stage is to hit a few balls in the nets at The Oval and see what reaction there is from the hand.

"It's too early to say whether I'll be available for the Headingley Test. I'll have a better idea at the end of the week when I hope to make a decision."

Thorpe added: "To play at Headingley I feel I need to get a game in for Surrey in either the seconds or the National League, just so I can see how the hand reacts in a match situation.

"I have to judge the situation day by day, but when you are coming back from an injury it's a fact that you need match practice just so you know in your own mind that you will not have any problems in the Test."

Thorpe is determined that if he is in Sunday's squad he will do his utmost to help England avoid a whitewash in the series.

"It was always going to be a tall order to win the final three Tests and now we have to re-evaluate our aims," he said.

"With two Tests to go we have to make sure we do not suffer a whitewash and ensure that we get something out of the series."

Thorpe could be joined by captain Nasser Hussain in England's squad, who is hoping to be declared fit later this week after missing the last two Tests with a broken bone in his right hand.

He is playing for Essex seconds against Notts seconds and successfully negotiated an hour at the crease to finish unbeaten on 24, which included three boundaries. All this followed a day in the field.

Hussain said afterwards that the whole day had been very beneficial. He said: "Apart from the batting practice, it's important for me to get plenty of fielding under my belt.

"Not having played for almost four weeks can leave you a little rusty and so it was important to have the opportunity for a good work out to sharpen up that aspect of my game.

"I've had some good net practice and batting has not been a problem, although of course nothing replaces the meaningful experience out in the middle under match conditions.

"Overall it's been an invaluable exercise for me today and I'm more than happy with the outcome."

But Michael Vaughan, who has undergone surgery on his knee, is likely to miss out. He declared himself fit for today's Roses match at Old Trafford but Yorkshire declined to pick him and told him to report for second team duty at Harrogate.

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