All Blacks and Crusaders prop Joe Moody is set to make his long-awaited return to rugby this weekend against the Waratahs in Christchurch.
Moody's 2017 season was cut short due to a shoulder injury while on test duty against Argentina last September.
He then suffered tendon damage in his finger on his return to club rugby with North Canterbury last month, sidelining him once more.
But the 31-test prop has now recovered from his latest setback and Crusaders assistant coach Jason Ryan confirmed Moody is available for selection.
"Joe is available for selection this weekend," said Ryan, "He played 60 minutes of club rugby on the weekend, and he is feeling good.
"We always enjoy having our All Blacks back especially a really destructive scrummager like Joe. There is good competition for all our looseheads right now.
"He's available for whatever role it is, but potentially we can control his minutes, but we will see how he trains tomorrow and how he gets through.
"He is looking very positive; he's defiantly going to be available for selection."
The Crusaders and Waratahs have plenty of history between one another having squared off in three Super Rugby finals in 2005, 2008 and 2014.
Adding more pressure to the fixture is the fact New Zealand teams have won 38-straight matches against Australian opposition.
Ryan said the fact that the press continually bringing up that statistic doesn't make things easier for the Kiwi sides.
"The media isn't doing us any favours writing off all the Aussie teams because sooner or later it's going to change.
"There have been some good traditions there, and it's always a prickly affair, and we're expecting that.
"They have a lot of physicality around their set-piece, they pride themselves on their lineout, and their scrum has been really competitive."
The Waratahs last beat the defending champions in 2015 - that was also the last time the Crusaders lost to an Australian side.
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