The New Zealand Warriors utility Thomas Leuluai can't wait to make his rugby league return against the high-flying Wests Tigers on Saturday evening in Wellington.
Leuluai's been sidelined since suffering a groin injury last October, in training for the Kiwis' failed World Cup campaign in England - and he only played three minutes of the game against Papua New Guinea before his tournament ended.
Now Leuluai is set to come off the bench this weekend against the Tigers, filling in at either hooker or five-eighth.
And the 28-year-old's eager to finally get back into the fray, though the long wait to get back to full fitness was no great surprise to Leuluai, who says he was warned it could take this long to heal properly.
He says his appears to be worst case scenario, but the groin feels fine now and given he hasn't had many injuries before, he can't complain.
Warriors captain Simon Mannering sat out training on Wednesday as a precaution, with illness, but he's expected to be fine to play in Wellington - where the Warriors have never won in six attempts, losing five and drawing once.
Mannering will beat Steve Price's record of 91 matches as skipper if he plays the Tigers game.
Meanwhile the Tigers captain Robbie Farah is in doubt with a calf strain - the skipper sat out training on Wednesday. Tigers coach Mick Potter will give Farah until game day to be ready to tackle the Warriors.
