Hazlewood given the all-clear of injury however Abbott ruled out of Test

Josh Hazlewood has been cleared to link up with the Australian team ahead of the opening Ashes match following fitness concerns, although compatriot Abbott is unavailable

Each encountered hamstring injuries during their match for their state team versus Victoria during Sheffield Shield action this past Wednesday

Tests indicated Hazlewood (34) escaped tissue injury. The 33-year-old Abbott, yet to debut, suffered a moderate-level injury

Captain Pat Cummins will miss the first Test, beginning on 21 November, meaning the absence of a key pace option such as Hazlewood would have been a major blow

Abbott was doubtful to feature at the Perth match, with Hazlewood set to join Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland as the primary pace attack

The captain, rehabilitating from a back injury, is expected to be likely to comeback for the Brisbane match in Brisbane starting on 4 December

Batter Steve Smith will captain the side while Cummins is out

Following other Aussie squad members, Hazlewood is involved in the current round of Sheffield Shield matches ahead of the Ashes

Before this week, he had not played a first-class match for New South Wales for over twelve months

He noticed discomfort in his leg muscle towards the end of the match during the match and was substituted for safety reasons

Both players participated in batting for the follow-on innings during their defeat by 300 runs

"There's seven days before the international cricket - always err on precautionary measures," said Cummins

"They needed to determine what was happening before pushing it and potentially making the injury more severe"

"He seldom shows him cheerful, making it encouraging to see him smiling"

"He knows his body really well. It seemed he felt slightly anxious (and) wanted to get professional evaluation"

Abbott has won 57 international selections for Australia in limited-overs formats

Without Test experience the pace bowler provides bowling backup in the squad, acting as backup for the primary fast bowlers