But first he must overcome a knee injury, with both he and fellow superstar Chris Gayle leaving the West Indies sweating over their fitness.

Russell limped from the field with an injured knee in the West Indies' flogging of Pakistan on Friday, but not before he wreaked havoc at Trent Bridge.

The former Sydney Thunder allrounder finished with figures of 2-4 from three overs, including the key scalp of Fakhar Zaman from a ball that bounced off the Pakistani opener's helmet and onto the stumps.

And he said he would take a similar short-pitched approach against Australia on Thursday, not concerned by the defending champions being accustomed to bumpers on their hard home decks.

Last Wednesday, Usman Khawaja avoided serious injury after being struck by a fierce Russell delivery in Australia's seven-wicket World Cup warm-up win over the Windies in Southampton.

Australian batsman Khawaja was forced off the field when hit by a ball that reared off a length from his former Thunder teammate and caught him under the grill on his helmet, although subsequent hospital scans failed to show any serious injury to the 32-year-old.

But Russell told reporters on Friday: "I'm not going to change anything, I'm going to be aggressive but be smart about it.

"Australian guys are used to fast bowling, but once you bowl aggressive to them anything can happen.

"Even though you can a lot of time be a good puller or better with the short balls, it all depends on the pace of the ball and line of the ball.

"If the ball is slightly wide, for you to pull a wide ball you have to get your bat around.

"That can cause a simple mistake, getting caught at fine leg or the boundary. And then game over for that batter."

Russell will require close attention from team medical staff this week on a long-running knee issue, although he remained confident he will face Australia.

"This knee I have been playing for years with these knee injuries. Sometimes it feels worse than some days," Russell said.

"But at the end of the day I am a professional I know what to do to get back.

"I have five days before the next game and that is more than enough time to get my knee back to normal to get it settled."

Meanwhile, Gayle looked troubled by his ongoing back issues against Pakistan and at times limped between the wickets in his 50.

"The mere fact they sent the physio back off the field is promising signs," captain Jason Holder said.

"We've got five days to see how he pulls up in the next couple days."

Australian Associated Press