Herbert suffered a hand injury while playing golf with his friends, and has been unable to play golf since.

The 23-year-old thought he'd be out of action for a week, but has now been sidelined for almost a month.

"Unfortunately, I took out a fescue bush my first week playing with the boys back home," Herbert told RSN.

"I've hurt my hand enough so that I haven't played since.

"It's been a bit frustrating. It has not settled down as quickly as I would have liked.

"We're trying to rehab it as quick as I can so I can play these Aussie events. But it's not responding as quickly as I would have liked.

"So it's been a bit frustrating."

Herbert plans to spend a lot of time with a physio next week, and says he hasn't suffered any structural damage.

The world No.194 says it is now too painful to hit a shot, and is weighing up whether to let the injury heal or have a cortisone injection in order to play in the tournament.

"The Australian Golf Club is an unbelievable course and I've enjoyed playing there any time we've had an event there," he continued.

"The last Australian Open we had there, I fared quite well.

"It would have been a great year to give it a run."

It has been a frustrating year for Herbert, who picked up just three top-10 finishes on the European Tour this season.

Australian Associated Press