The All Blacks are hopeful injured hooker Dane Coles is nearing a return to the rugby field with a target of seeing him back in black posted for October.
Coach Steve Hansen named Coles in today's training squad ahead of the Rugby Championship with the intent of having "access" to him should he make a successful comeback from the knee and calf injuries that have sidelined him for the past nine months.
However, Hansen says they won't rush the 56-Test front rower, with plans in place to have him front for Wellington in the Mitre 10 Cup first before looking at games on the international stage.
"He's still not ready to play - we're thinking late September, early October.
"He will come back through the Mitre 10, and play various amounts of minutes there. Once he's had enough rugby, he'll come to us," Hansen said.
Hansen said there was no point rushing the process either.
"We just need to get him fit, he needs to get a bit more intensity into his training and that's going to take a wee while. We've just got to get him running fit so we can get the old Colsey back.
"We've just got to be patient - we're expecting to see him back on the park late September."
Wellington begin their provincial campaign on August 19 against Otago, meaning Coles could get as many as eight games under his belt before his projected All Blacks return.
SHARE ME