The All Blacks and Sonny Bill Williams have re-evaluated his return timetable from injury.
The Blues second-five missed the opening two games of the Rugby Championship, while he recovered from shoulder surgery, with coach Steve Hansen indicating a likely return against Argentina in Nelson.
Hurricanes midfield powerhouse Ngani Laumape was brought into the squad as cover, starring in the second test thumping of the Wallabies last weekend.
Despite Williams' recovery from surgery being on schedule, the 33-year-old isn't confident he will be fully fit for Saturday's test with the Pumas.
Williams said he didn't believe he was ready for 80 minutes of rugby, but was keen to get back onto the doctor's table for an update.
"It's going okay," Williams told Newshub.
"The doctors said recovery would be anywhere from 10-14 weeks. It's 10 weeks at the moment, so I'm keen to get back into camp and talk with the medical staff, and see how I am tracking. But fingers crossed we are all good to go.
"Probably not right now [ready for 80 minutes] but again, it’s important that I get back into the environment, chat with the medical team and go through a couple good weeks training with the boys."
Hansen agreed, identifying the following week against the Springboks as a more likely estimate.
"Sonny will come back into training this well and if things go well, we will consider him for the South African game," Hansen said.
The 33-year-old former rugby league star is excited to head to Nelson on Sunday night to join his teammates, as they prepare for the third test of the Rugby Championship.
Williams is relishing the opportunity to get back into the mix in the All Blacks midfield, after impressive showings in recent weeks from Anton Lienert-Brown, Jack Goodhue and Laumape.
The two-time World Cup winner spoke of not only the competition between the midfield contenders, but also the bond they all share.
"The special thing about the midfield within the All Blacks is we look at each other as brothers," Williams said.
"We all bring something different to the table. The two players that are out there performing at such a high level are flourishing, because of the work that all of us have done throughout the week.
"I take a lot of pride and satisfaction out of that. The great thing about being in that All Blacks environment is that there is always pressure to perform, because there is so much good, young talent coming through.
"The two Bledisloe games, the boys played so incredibly well, so from my standpoint, I was just really proud of how the boys turned up, especially in the second test, because we have been known to drop off the intensity after coming off good wins."
Despite being gutted to have sat on the sidelines for the opening stanza of the competition, Williams never got a sense of frustration watching his teammates rout the Wallabies twice.
He told Newshub that having a young family has grounded him the past four years, realising that playing rugby is not the be-all and end-all.
"I have things for me, outside the football field going on, but that passion and drive is still there to play.
"It’s really disappointing to be injured, but I guess that is just life."
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Join us at 7:35pm on Saturday for live updates of the All Blacks vs Argentina Rugby Championship clash in Nelson.
