The Tuggeranong Valley junior is 12 weeks into rehabilitation following back surgery which saw a bone graft taken from his hip and screws put in on either side of his spine.

Behrendorff admits he underestimated how much pain he would be in - so much so that he couldn't put his own shoes and socks on for three weeks.

But the 29-year-old is edging closer to a return having run at 100 per cent body weight on an Alter-G treadmill for the first time post-surgery this week.

Now the left-arm quick is exploring his options in the hope he can get matches under his belt during the winter months leading into the Twenty20 World Cup on home soil beginning in October.

Behrendorff's torrid run with stress fractures suggests an international return so soon would be no mean feat.

But he is adamant he will not sacrifice his long-term future, given an eventual return to red ball cricket is in the back of his mind, for the Twenty20 showpiece.

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"It's definitely a goal. There's always no harm in setting yourself some good goals like that, and what better goal to set yourself than to try and get right for a World Cup?," Behrendorff said.

"That's something that is definitely on my mind in the sense I would love to be a part of it.

"I know if I can get everything right body-wise and play some games, then I will definitely give myself a good chance to be in contention for.

"That's something ideally I would love to be ready for, but on the same token, if it's not quite going to plan or I'm not quite ready, then we're not going to rush it.

"Ultimately I made the decision to have surgery, and I still 100 per cent feel like that was the right decision.

"I'm not going to jeopardise all the hard work we have done to get to this point and then going forward for one particular thing.

"It's a lot about the next phase of my career and hopefully having an uninterrupted end to my career."

Behrendorff's rehabilitation program is set to ramp up as he reaches the 12-week checkpoint which he says often serves as a point to "let the handbrake off".

Soon enough his workload will build up with more running, sprinting and lifting heavier weights.

Once those marks have been ticked off Behrendorff can begin to look at bowling again, having not done so for Australia since the 50-over World Cup last year.

"In the past couple of days now I've started to look a bit further forward, and that's a really exciting thing," Behrendorff said.

"I've realised how much I have missed it over the past three months ... but now knowing I'm closer to bowling than I have been for a long time, it's really exciting."