 Symonds is keen to return to the Australia team |
Symonds had surgery on a torn bicep muscle after he was injured in the CB Series against England six weeks ago.
But Ponting said: "Symonds was saying on the bus yesterday (Wednesday) that he is ready to play now.
"He'd play with one arm if he could - the next few days are crucial if he's going to play against the Netherlands."
Without Symonds, the Aussies cruised to a 203-run victory against Scotland on Wednesday.
However, the 31-year-old is crucial to the balance of their one-day side with his powerful hitting and superb fielding, as well as his ability to bowl either off-spin or medium pace as the situation dictates. 
"There will be some discussion this week about him playing the next game," Ponting added.
"We will just have to see how he comes along.
"He is rolling his arm over and doing a fair bit of throwing - and he's comfortable with his batting.
"But we can't afford to take him into that game if he's 75-80% fit, in case he hurts himself again. That is the last thing we want.
"The physio is going to have a hard job, to monitor how he's going and to tell him if he's not playing.
"It's a tough decision to make. We probably could play him as just a batsman, but he's still got to field."
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