The 25-year-old wingback - on loan at MLS side Seattle Sounders from Bournemouth - has overcome a series of injury setbacks and inactivity at club level, making eight starts for two assists for the Western Conference side so far this season.
And his re-emergence has not gone unnoticed by Australia coach Graham Arnold as he formulates his first post-AFC Asian Cup squad for June’s yet-to-be-confirmed friendly against Korea Republic.
A second game is also under consideration for that FIFA window.
Former Liverpool fringe player Smith - a regular under Ange Postecoglou during Australia’s 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign - last appeared in the green and gold in the play-off against Syria in October 2017.
He limped off with a serious long-term hip injury early in that match and hasn’t been sighted in a Socceroos squad since.
Smith's ubiquitous presence on the bench or the treatment table at Bournemouth - for whom he has made just five Premier League appearances since signing from Liverpool in mid-2016 - cruelled his hopes of landing a spot in Bert van Marwijk’s squad for Russia.
There was more disappointment when he missed out on selection for January’s AFC Asian Cup, with Aziz Behich and his back-up Alex Gersbach the preferred left-backs in the UAE.
But Arnold is understood to believe the time is right to reintegrate Smith and up the ante in the perennial battle for starting spots in a position currently filled by Behich.
Behich’s spot is under renewed threat due to his lack of game time this season with PSV Eindhoven, while Perth Glory wingback Jason Davidson - a veteran of the 2014 World Cup and 2015 Asian Cup - is also under consideration for a recall.
Smith is in his second loan spell at the Sounders, who boast actor Drew Carey and producer Tim Roth as celebrity backers.
They sit third on the Western Conference ladder with 17 points from eight games behind leaders Los Angeles FC and second-placed LA Galaxy.
