All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick assures that everything is on track for his playing return come the Rugby World Cup, having been in doubt with a shoulder injury.
Retallick, 28, left fans and selectors with their hearts in their mouths as he left the field in serious pain against the Springboks at the end of July , later revealed to have dislocated his shoulder.
Having not played since, Retallick has been given the timeline to return to the All Blacks' ranks, should they make the quarter-finals of this year's World Cup in Japan.
With the All Blacks now in Auckland in preparation for their final pre-World Cup Test against Tonga in Hamilton on September 7, Retallick fronted media, giving an update on where he's at.
"I'm feeling pretty good," Retallick began.
"I've made some good progress on the shoulder over the last three or four days. There's some light at the end of the tunnel.
"I was getting pretty frustrated by it before then, but so far so good."
Retallick also revealed the extent of his injury, detailing the pain in his day-to-day activities.
"I had pretty limited movement, when it dislocated it sort of pinched a nerve. I had a bit of numbness down my arm [and] my fingers.
"I'm starting to get some feeling back in the arm, and the fingers [are] back to normal. So that was kind of holding my range of motion back - I couldn't do a whole lot of strengthening.
"Now I've got full range back, so I can start to rehab the shoulder."
Despite coach Steve Hansen's hopes for a return come the quarter-finals of the World Cup, Retallick added that there is still no definite date for any return to the field.
"We're kind of hoping for a date, if it comes right it does, and if not we'll have to address that."
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