Shane Watson says five months out battling a calf injury has him primed for a huge summer of international cricket.

Watson will make his international return from a calf injury in next month’s Twenty20 fixture against South Africa.

The November 5 fixture at Adelaide Oval kicks off a lengthy international schedule which runs until late March and extends through a five-match ODI series with the Proteas, a four-Test series against India, a triangular ODI series involving India and England, and finally the World Cup on home soil.

It is an arduous schedule and Watson says he is very well prepared, despite having struggled during his career with injury.

“I have had time to freshen up and it has made me very excited to be playing again,” Watson told reporters at the SCG on Tuesday.

“I had a really big day at training yesterday as well as bowling off my long run, so it has been a really good build-up over the last couple of weeks.

“To be able to start with T20 cricket and lead into the other cricket is a nice way to be able to build up my endurance over the next couple of weeks and couple of months leading into the summer.

Watson said the rest should have him firing at the high points of the summer, including the World Cup.

“I am very fresh at the moment, this certainly is a very long summer,” he said.

“I haven’t played any cricket up until this point so I will be fresh going into the time when I am going to have to make the most of my freshness especially at the back end of the summer, towards the back end of the World Cup.

“The most important thing is to be performing over the next couple of months to give myself a chance to stay in the summer for the whole time.

“To be a big part of the World Cup campaign as well.”