Returning prop Ben Alexander says the young turks in the Wallabies front row have put the heat on him as he strives to regain a starting spot on the upcoming spring tour.

The talented Brumbies front-rower suffered medial ligament knee damage in Australia's opening Test of the year against Fiji and missed the remainder of the Wallabies' international campaign.

Prior to his injury, Alexander had locked down a regular starting spot at tighthead as opposed to his more familiar side of loosehead.

However, with Brumbies team-mate Salesi Ma'afu and young Queenslander James Slipper growing in stature after a tough Test baptism earlier this year, Alexander wasn't expecting an easy ride back into the starting line-up for the seven-match tour of Hong Kong and Europe.

"The young blokes, it's been good to watch them develop and I've watched their progression and they've have done really well," Alexander told AAP.

"Obviously there was a few hiccups early, but they applied themselves and started playing really well towards the Tri-Nations campaign.

"They've really put the heat on me to try and up my game if I'm going to get another shot on this tour."

He could have been back even quicker than his anticipated 12-week break after having the revolutionary LARS surgery, but significant weight loss and a knee inspection slightly slowed his healing process.

Alexander, 25, who has played 19 Tests, acknowledged the lack of a warm-up game before the Wallabies tour opener against New Zealand would make it hard for him to force his way back into the starting side for the Bledisloe Cup encounter in Hong Kong on October 30.

After three games off the bench for his Sydney club Eastwood, Alexander declared he was "ready to rumble".

"I feel refreshed, I feel like it's the start of the my season," Alexander said.

He expected the tour schedule to give Australia's much scrutinised scrum a good indication of its progress.

"The French in my view are probably the best (scrum), New Zealand I reckon are right up there, the Italians are extremely good and (England's) Leicester are probably the best club scrum in the world, so it's going to be a tough tour," Alexander said.

"It will put us in good stead for next year, coming up against the best scrums this year, it will show us where we are and where we need to improve."

Alexander said he wasn't fussed about whether he played at tighthead or loosehead, but described the former as the toughest position on the field and felt it offered greater rewards from a scrummaging prospective.

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