Perth: Australia’s pace spearhead Mitchell Starc said on Monday he is ready to play in this week’s Test series-opener against South Africa even though he is still recovering from a nasty leg laceration.

Starc has been fighting to be fit to face the Proteas after a gruesome training accident in September resulted in a gash in his left leg that needed 30 stitches.

He made his comeback in the domestic Sheffield Shield competition last week, bowling 19 overs and fielding in the slips.

Starc insists he will be fit to take on the South Africans in the first Test starting on Thursday despite the need to safeguard his bandaged left leg.

“Clean it every day, put a patch on it and away you go,” he told reporters in Perth, adding that he hoped a knee pad would allow him to slide and dive while fielding.

“It’s not bleeding, it’s healing nicely. Even if it does break open a little bit (more) it’s not going to play on my mind. My knee is structurally fine.”

Starc’s workloads will be monitored by Cricket Australia medical staff. The WACA ground curator Matt Page has vowed to leave more grass on the strip to try to avoid a repeat of last year’s attritional high-scoring draw against New Zealand.

Starc said he had not forgotten the “pretty disappointing” unresponsive WACA wicket in last year’s Test, when David Warner and Ross Taylor both posted double tons.

“That was the toughest wicket to bowl on. It was so hard and flat and didn’t have that pace you’d normally see at the WACA,” Starc said.

“I hope it’s a lot better and shows a little bit of the WACA of old, and hopefully a bit of an extra bounce and pace.”

Starc looms as an influential player in the three-Test series, having missed out on Australia’s record 5-0 One Day International series drubbing in South Africa earlier in October.

The left-armer has taken 115 wickets at 27.36 in his 28 Tests.

Meanwhile, senior paceman Dale Steyn said on Monday his fellow quick Kagiso Rabada would bring a lot of “heat” to the South African bowling attack in this week’s Test series-opener in Perth.

Steyn, the veteran of the Proteas’ new-ball attack with 416 wickets in 84 Tests, gave the Australian batsmen a sense of what they will be facing in the first of three Tests starting at the WACA Ground on Thursday.

“A lot of heat,” the 33-year-old told reporters when asked what to expect from Rabada, who is 21.

“He’s really quick and he’s got a great head on his shoulders. He’s always looking to learn and his record (29 wickets at 24.44 from eight Tests) is pretty amazing for such a young guy, especially a bowler.

“Because you only see bowlers tend to come into their stripes at maybe 26 or 27, especially fast bowlers once they’ve learned their trade.”

Only current Test bowler Vernon Philander (30.98) and former all-rounder Mike Procter (36.93) can claim a better strike rate among South African bowlers than Rabada’s current strike of a wicket every 38.93 deliveries.

Steyn also had no hesitation in declaring his likely new-ball partner was much faster than he is.

“It doesn’t feel like he’s been in this team for a long time but it’s actually almost three years now so he’s learned a lot and he’s an incredible talent,” Steyn said.

“I [attribute much of that] to the culture and the environment in this team, I think he’s got about 10 years of experience in three years, which is really great.

“I’m excited to see what he can do because in Adelaide the other night he was bowling really quick and he was landing the ball exactly where he wanted to. The guy’s got a lot of pace.”