A horror year is approaching a dream end for Sevens star Nick Malouf with the men kicking off their campaign in just under a week.
Malouf has had a rollercoaster 12 months, after initially rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in September last year.
Then, just weeks out from the Olympic squad announcement the 22-year old went down again and despite initial fears that he had suffered the same injury, scans revealed just a minor tweak.
“It’s feeling better everyday,” Malouf said from their training camp in Brazil.
“We’re pushing things a little bit (quicker) but I’m comfortable that as long as I keep progressing well each day and that it’s feeling better at training, and that I’m still performing with the boys, then I will definitely take my place out there.”
“I wouldn’t miss this opportunity for the world.”
Wallabies winger Henry Speight and fellow flyer Tom Kingston have travelled as injury reserves should Malouf fail to recover in time, although he has trained fully during the camp in Portobello, south of Rio de Janeiro.
“It’s been fantastic, we got in a few days ago and we’re staying at a pretty special place,” Malouf said.
“Our balcony is about 30 metres away from the water and there are palm trees everywhere.
“It’s been pretty easy to get used to life in Brazil.
“Everyone is having a laugh, I think everyone is just trying to enjoy the experience as much as we can.
“We’re obviously a tight bunch of blokes so everyone is laughing and having a good time but when it comes to training everyone is pretty serious.”
The men arrive into the Athletes’ Village on Thursday ahead of their opening Pool B clash against France on August 10 at 12am AEST.
