'It's been a breath of fresh air not being involved'

Johnson's mighty nine-wicket haul in Perth last December temporarily turned the past Ashes series in Australia's favour. Arguably it was also the last time the left-armer was universally regarded as integral to the national team.

The 30-year-old predicted the season-ending toe injury he suffered on the November tour of South Africa, during his unbeaten innings of 40 that shepherded Australia to victory in Johannesburg, would be a boost for his career because it will allow him ample opportunity for remedial work on his bowling.

''It was a bit of relief [to be ruled out]. There was a bit of talk of me being dropped anyway if I didn't have this injury,'' he told the Herald yesterday. ''It's been a breath of fresh air not being involved in it … there's only positives coming out of it at the moment for me. I'm going to be able to work on things that I couldn't do when I was in the team.''

Johnson strongly rejected the popular suggestion his international career had been condemned because of the emergence of pace tyros Pat Cummins, James Pattinson and fellow left-armer Mitchell Starc.

''I find it quite funny that [the end of his career] has been mentioned. I'm 30 years of age. If you look at how cricket is … when you're young you do get your injuries and usually it's when you're older that you find yourself as a player. I know that it's going to be a hard task with the way things are - the young boys are doing very well - but I still think I've got enough to give [to warrant a place] in this Australian team.''

Johnson, in Melbourne for a photo shoot with his sponsor and a check-up on his toe that is not expected to heal fully for at least another three months, said a byproduct of the surgery and extended convalescence was having extra time to improve his mental resilience.

''Obviously, there's been a fair bit in the press written about my form over the past 12 months … I probably didn't deal with it the way I would have liked to have, let it get to me a bit,'' he said.

''Right now I'm feeling the best I ever have mentally, having been able to get away from it all. It [public criticism] has obviously been a big part of the past 12 months. It's not an excuse if it affects your performances - it's all part of the game. But it can, it can happen to anyone.''

Johnson said he does not want to ''live on reputation'' and was prepared for the likely slide in his Cricket Australia contract ranking - and commensurate drop in earnings - when the new contracts are allocated in the middle of the year.

''Well I've got this [serious] injury and I'm coping with that pretty well. There's every possibility that's going to happen. I'll be [down] in the pecking order when I come back from this injury. I'm ready to deal with all that. I'm dealing with it now, I'm definitely strong enough to deal with that [in the future].''

Johnson's pace, physical resilience (until this unusual injury) and lower-order batting prowess should ensure that even if selectors decline to reinstate him to the Test team, he would remain a formidable option for Australia in both limited-overs formats.

Johnson will nominate for next month's Indian Premier League Twenty20 auction in the hope playing in the tournament - fitness permitting - will increase the likelihood of a limited-overs recall between May and November, when Australia does not play any Tests but will feature in three limited-overs series.

Nevertheless, the paceman was adamant he could not be content until he reclaimed his Test position, even if he was instead a pillar of Australia's ODI and Twenty20 bowling attacks, which would be enough to ensure lucrative Cricket Australia and other playing deals in the future.

''I've always said that Test match cricket is my No.1. I love the challenge of it all, the five days of tough competition. If I was told I wouldn't be able to play Test cricket again I'd be pushing hard to prove them [selectors] wrong,'' he said.

''I'm definitely hungry to get back into playing cricket, even if it's at state level for six months or whatever. I still love the game.''

In the past fortnight Johnson has been allowed to dispense with crutches and begin restricted gym training. His next month of training will largely consist of exercise bike sessions, although his surgeon has told him his left toe can now cope with him hitting gentle underarm throwdowns in the nets.

Johnson has, except for some congratulatory text messages sent to teammates, deliberately kept his distance from the national team since his surgery on December 1, but will attend at least day one of the Test against India at the WACA Ground starting tomorrow.