Wallabies flanker David Pocock faces the biggest hurdle in his Bledisloe return on Tuesday, with just a contact session standing between him and an Eden Park return.
Pocock has missed a month with a broken hand but returned to the Wallabies squad for Saturday’s Auckland Test and made it through Monday’s first session unscathed.
Tuesdays are generally the most heavy duty training day for the Wallabies, with full contact ahead of a day off on Wednesday.
Pocock said he was optimistic of making it back into the team this weekend, though whether that would be a starting spot or on the bench is unclear.
“It's feeling pretty good,” he said.
“I've done all the rehab that’s been required, the last little bit is the uncontrolled contact, see how that goes.
“Yesterday was good, enjoy training in the rain so we'll see what today holds.”
Fellow flanker Sean McMahon’s recovery has been a touch slower, with the 22-year-old admitting he would be a ‘long shot’ to play at Eden Park.
McMahon played a small part in training on Monday after an ankle syndesmosis injury ended his Test in Pretoria almost three weeks ago.
“I had a little bit of a trot yesterday to see how it was feeling, coming out of the boot.”
“It's feeling good, just to come back into camp, being around the boys, trying to lift the spirits a little bit. I'll keep trotting away.
“The squad hasn't been named yet so I'll keep working on my ankle and see how it goes over the week.
“It's a bit of a long shot as you'd expect it was with the type of injury that it was but I'll just keep trotting away and working on building the strength back into it and see where that takes it.”
The Wallabies head to Auckland on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s Bledisloe double header, which kicks off with the Wallaroos-Black Ferns clash at Eden Park.
