Graeme Smith is recovering well from surgery on his elbow ahead of the new season and could be ready for the ICC Champions Trophy next month.

The South Africa captain went under the knife in June to repair chronic tennis elbow, which has constantly dogged him over the past 14 months.

Speaking at the preliminary squad unveiling for his Cape Cobras team ahead of the Champions League in October, he said: "I've been training for a while. I hit a few tennis balls today which was quite exciting.

"The process is all about getting it stronger, getting the muscles back to work after surgery. I'm working hard with the Cobras medical staff and a physio in Cape Town."

The Proteas opener first suffered the injury during the Indian Premier League last April, and forced him to miss the last three one-day internationals during his side's tour to England in August.

Apart from his break due to the surgery, Smith revealed the off-season had been a good time for him as he refreshes for the campaign ahead.

He said: "As national captain you never really shut off unless you get a holiday, but the big thing for me was getting away from the emotional pressures, the pressures of winning games, scoring runs, practising, and just constantly being 'ready'.

"Hopefully the break's given me a bit of edge back. It's been nice to train quite hard; I've been able to spend some time in the gym, get strong again, especially with the tennis-elbow issue I've had.

"I'm looking forward to the start of the season. You feel the motivation coming back and get excited about playing cricket again.

"I'm starting to get back into the mould now. We have a national selection meeting tomorrow and then a camp for the Champions Trophy on 28 August."

Smith also revealed his long-term plans for the Proteas, saying he was hoping to play until at least 2015.

"I'm still in the process of getting there (back to peak fitness)," he said. "A couple more weeks will help get me really ready.

"Hopefully I'll have progressed a lot further by the Proteas training camp, and be ready for full net practices.

"I've been working hard here with Rob Walter, the new SA fitness trainer, and with the people at Province.

"So it feels like I'm back as an 18 or 19-year-old again, grafting hard. But I really want to give myself the best opportunity to play for five or six years more for South Africa. I want to be fit enough to achieve that."

Looking ahead to the 12-team Champions League tournament, Smith added: "From a Cobras perspective, it will be a wonderful experience for us to go over there, and having played an IPL game in Bangalore, it's going to be wonderful to go and do well in that environment.

"The stage couldn't get any bigger in the domestic format, and it would be nice to get one over them."

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