Just a few weeks ago Warne said at a sports function there was a danger he might never play again but he now says it is a matter of when, not if.

``At the physio over the last couple of weeks I've shown some good progress and at this stage I'm aiming for the first Shield game,'' he said at the launch of the Victorian season.

He has made himself unavailable for Australia's tour of Pakistan starting on Sept 23 but said he was aiming to make his Test comeback against England in Brisbane on Nov 24.

He said he needed to play the Shield games in the lead-up to gauge how his shoulder was recovering. With a ``brand new shoulder'' he believes his bowling action should be better than ever.