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Henriques set to earn Test recall

NSW allrounder Moises Henriques and spinner Steven O'Keefe to be recalled to Test team

UPDATED: Full squad confirmed for Qantas Tour of Sri Lanka

New South Wales allrounder Moises Henriques appears set to earn a surprise recall to Australia’s Test squad for the Qantas Tour of Sri Lanka, according to media reports.

Henriques hasn’t played a Test since showing promise on the infamous tour of India in 2013, although he was a member of the squad that triumphed over then world No.1 South Africa in early 2014.

Selection for the three-Test tour would cap off a remarkable recovery by the 29-year-old after a sickening collision in June last year left him in hospital with a broken jaw in three places.

"I didn’t find it too hard to return to sport despite the severity of the injury,” Henriques told the Hindustan Times last month.

“With that kind of incident, there’s always the possibility of having a mental block which stays on for long after the incident.

"However, I tried to attack those demons by returning to the ground as soon as possible."

Henriques fought his way back to return for the NSW Blues and showed glimpses of what he is capable of, before a pair of calf injuries – firstly in the Sheffield Shield and then in the KFC Big Bash League – limited him to just four first-class appearances for the summer.

Now plying his trade alongside David Warner for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, Henriques will have all of June to once again adjust to red-ball cricket while the ODI squad travels to the Caribbean for the tri-series against the West Indies and South Africa.

Despite the expected spin-friendly conditions in the subcontinent, cricket.com.au’s Andrew Ramsey earlier reported the National Selection Panel was looking to seam bowling for success following Sri Lanka’s capitulation against England in the first Test.

Want more? Sri Lanka tour updates

Henriques would provide a back-up option to first-choice allrounder Mitchell Marsh, while state teammate Stephen O’Keefe is set to win the race to partner Nathan Lyon.

"I dare say there’ll be a second spinner in the (Sri Lanka Test) squad, with the likelihood of wickets that will spin and reverse swing,” Smith told media in Brisbane today.

"So I think it'll be an exciting squad."

WATCH: Steve Smith discusses the tour of Sri Lanka

O'Keefe played alongside Lyon at the SCG earlier this year, bowling 26.1 overs in Australia's rain-marred Test draw against West Indies.

The left-arm tweaker's only other Test came in 2014, when he debuted in a miserable 2-0 series loss to Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.

Leg-spinner Adam Zampa's stocks have skyrocketed this year after he impressed at the World Twenty20 and IPL.

But Zampa's Sheffield Shield form hasn't been as sensational, something both the 24-year-old and coach Darren Lehmann noted in March.

"His four-day record has got to improve, he's the first to admit that," Lehmann said during the World T20.

Mitchell Starc will make a welcome return to lead the pace battery, while Josh Hazlewood and Jackson Bird will join the devastating left-armer as Australia look to strengthen their hold on the No.1 Test ranking.

WATCH: Starc back and bowling heat in the nets

Victorian quicks Peter Siddle and James Pattinson, who were both members of the successful campaign in New Zealand, finished that tour with ankle and shin problems respectively while Pat Cummins continues his recovery from a back injury by targeting the ‘A’ quadrangular series later in the winter.

The top six of David Warner, Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Smith, Adam Voges and Marsh looks set after a run-laden summer while Shaun Marsh is likely to retain his place in the Test squad.

"The batters probably pick themselves, they've been pretty consistent over the last little while and scoring some big runs," Smith said.

The 15-man squad for the three-Test series starting in Kandy on July 26 will be officially announced Tuesday morning.