Australia's star batsman Steve Smith has revealed his recovery from concussion only progressed after recent treatment for a worrying vertigo incident.
Smith, who will face fast bowling on Tuesday for the first time since being concussed on February 13, says symptoms only eased after suffering a bout of vertigo.
Smith was treated by the Epley manouevre, where his head was manipulated to return inner-ear crystals back in place.
"A couple of Fridays ago I had a vertigo incident where I was struggling for a bit that day," Smith told reporters on Tuesday from Islamabad, where Australia is preparing for a three-Test series against Pakistan starting Friday.
"But I had the Epley manoeuvre and got the crystals back where they're supposed to be in the inner ear - it's not a very comfortable place to be, I will tell you that.
"After that, things settled down and progressed really nicely.
"I have been able to do all the exercise stuff that I needed to do to get myself back to that ready-to-play state, so everything is going well."
Smith was concussed when his head hit the ground while attempting a catch in a BBL game on February 13.
The Test ace hasn't faced any fast bowling since but will return against the pacemen at Australia's training session later Tuesday, local time.
"Recovering from that concussion, I have faced some side-arm and a few spinners," Smith said.
"So I have the opportunity to face some fast bowlers today which I am looking forward to.
"And I am looking forward to the next three days of prep before we get started on Friday.
"The head has progressed really well the last few days so I am feeling in a good space.
"I have done a lot of stuff where I have got my heart rate up to a good amount and brought it back down and that is part of the protocols of getting back to playing.
"And I had a couple of good hits in Melbourne before we came away.
"But today is obviously just about ticking off facing fast bowling. And once that is done, then everything should be fine."
The Australians will hold their first training session in Pakistan after hierarchy dismissed a death threat made via social media to the partner of spinner Ashton Agar.
Cricket Australia, the Pakistan Cricket Board and combined government security agencies investigated the threat, which was deemed as not credible.
"We're aware of social media and the unfortunate events that can occur on platforms across social media," Smith said.
"We have got a lot of people here working with us, we trust our security and everyone involved and we're feeling incredibly safe here in Pakistan."
