Injured Chiefs' lock Keith Robinson has an appointment today which could decide his rugby future.
The 28-year-old has been a frustrated bystander during the Super 12, his physical activity restricted to cardiovascular work on the bike or in the gym as he recovered from his latest back operation.
Robinson was
impressive in the All Blacks' domestic test schedule last year until he succumbed to a long-term problem with a disc in his back pushing on his sciatic nerve.
After surgery late last year there was the optimistic prognosis that Robinson could target a Super 12 return about April.
The sciatic pain has gone, but Robinson still has lower back trouble and has been unable to train with the Chiefs other than giving them lineout lessons.
"My progress has slowed from the strides I thought I was making about a month ago," he said.
"I want to get some feedback hopefully on where I am going and to be given a time when I can get back into rugby training.
"I know myself how the back feels, but I want to see what the specialist thinks."
That meeting is today. Robinson said resuming training would never come fast enough, but he had learned to be more patient.
He was also realistic enough to accept that his long-term health was more important than short-term satisfaction.
"I would not want to be a liability to the team with a crook back, and I would not want to rush back and damage it either," Robinson said.
"I am between a rock and a hard place, and that is frustrating, but having a good back is more important than rugby. In a good mood, I can see myself playing Super 12 again, and at other times I do wonder. Those are the highs and lows of an injury."
Lock is one position where the All Black selectors do not have a chestful of contenders for the Lions series. Coach Graham Henry would love to have the Chiefs' lock back to confront the Lions as he did England last year.
All that, though, is conditional on the surgeon's approval that Robinson can return.
