Another day, another injury scare for Australia – but this time it had a happy ending.

Star batsman Steve Smith was left wincing in pain on Tuesday after being struck on his left hand while batting in the WACA Ground nets.

To ease the throbbing, Smith used the team’s drinks esky to ice his hand.

• Pat Cummins in doubt for Afghanistan clash

Smith was clearly in pain when physiotherapist Alex Kountouris tested his gripping strength, but he returned to the nets a short time later to allay any fears the injury was serious.

The 25-year-old is set to line up in Wednesday’s World Cup clash with Afghanistan at the WACA Ground.

But paceman Pat Cummins won’t be there after injuring his left side during last week’s one-wicket loss to New Zealand.

Australia have endured their fair share of injury concerns both in the lead-up and during the World Cup.

James Faulkner is expected to return against Afghanistan.

All-rounder James Faulkner tore his right side a month ago, but he’s ready to return against Afghanistan.

And skipper Michael Clarke only made his playing comeback last week after recovering from hamstring surgery.

Clarke is confident Smith won’t encounter any lingering issues with his hand, but the final make-up of the team won’t be unveiled until Wednesday.

“Smithy got hit on the hand facing a spinner, and he went back in the nets, so I think he’s fine,” Clarke said.

“I just spoke to (selector) Rod Marsh, and he wants to see how everyone pulls up after training before he selects the eleven.”

Should Josh Hazlewood replace Cummins, then Shane Watson or Mitch Marsh could be dropped for Faulkner.

Australia sit fourth in Pool A following their washout against Bangladesh and a one-wicket loss to NZ.

But Clarke denied the slow start to the tournament had caused any concerns among the four-time World Cup winners.

“I think it’s been written there’s been a lot of distractions, but I think as a team we’re extremely focused and nothing’s changed,” Clarke said.

“We’re obviously disappointed we didn’t have success in the last game against NZ, but our goal is still very clear.

“You couldn’t ask for a team that works as hard as this group does.

“I think if we keep doing this we’ll see rewards at the end of this tournament.

“I believe in confidence and I think we’ve been playing some really good one day cricket over the past 12 months to two years.”

Afghanistan will start as rank underdogs on a bouncy WACA wicket, but the minnows are daring to dream of causing a boilover after beating Scotland and putting up a stiff fight against Sri Lanka.

“I think they’ve shown the world they’ve got a really good team that can perform at this level against the best,” Clarke said.

-AAP