The return of giant lock Brodie Retallick could not have come soon enough, as his All Blacks teammates struggle to turn around a Rugby Championship campaign that has hit another pothole with defeat to Argentina on home soil.
Last sighted in black, Retallick, 31, was being led off Wellington's Sky Stadium pitch at a pivotal point of last month's series decider against Ireland, his cheekbone fractured in a high tackle from prop Andrew Porter.
If the Irish front-rower had been red-carded for the offence - as All Blacks prop Angus Ta'avao had the previous week - we might not now be reflecting on the tourists' first-ever series win in New Zealand.
After trailling 22-3 at halftime, New Zealand scored within minutes of Porter's temporary exit, drawing within five points of their rivals, but were unable to continue that momentum once their opposition were reinstated to full strength over the closing 20 minutes.
Retallick has had to watch from afar, as the All Blacks mystique took further body blows from world champions South Africa and the Pumas, who now believe they can beat the Kiwis anywhere, after only ever achieving that feat once before.
After a shift for Hawke's Bay in their successful Ranfurly Shield defence against North Harbour over the weekend - his first appearance for his province in a decade - Retallick is back in camp with the national team, hoping he will get the chance to help set matters right against the Pumas at Hamilton.
"I'm not exactly sure what the plan is as of yet, but I got through 55-odd minutes on Saturday and the body's come through good," he said. "Whether that's enough for the coaches to now pick me here or go back to Hawke's Bay, I'm not sure yet.
"We'll see how that goes with the week."
Make no mistake, this All Blacks team are in need of psychological boost and having their talismanic second-rower back in their ranks at gametime may be just the fresh perspective they need to help recover their mojo.
"Anytime you're on the sideline with an injury, it's frustrating, when you'd much rather be out there," he said. "There's been some massive strides from the forward pack in the last few weeks and for quite a few periods on the weekend, they got it right, but I would love to be out there."
His presence would also allow under-seige coach Ian Foster - and new forwards coach Jason Ryan - to restore a line-up that proved very successful in their series-opener against Ireland at Eden Park.
Acting on a hunch, Foster handed specialist lock Scott Barrett the No.6 jersey and he responded with a matchwinning performance that erased memories of his previous outing as blindside flanker, when the All Blacks lost to England in the 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-finals.
Afterwards, the coach hinted would see more time off the side of the scrum - but injury has prevented it happening since. Barrett was shifted back into the second row, when veteran Sam Whitelock missed the second test with concussion.
While Barrett was named at No.6 for the decider, he was a late withdrawal with an Achilles niggle, replaced by Akira Ioane, and has had to cover for Retallick at lock ever since.
Retallick's return would surely see Barrett restored to the flank.
Amid the public and media feeding frenzy over Foster's future, Retallick is also relatively undamaged goods, watching on from a same distance. He endured the Pumas debacle as a "fanboy" among his Magpies teammates at their Shield aftermatch.
"There's obviously been a lot of external noise over the last month," he said. "I've seen it from a different view, not being in the environment and bumping into people in the street asking questions I've got no answer for, because I don't know what's going on at that level.
"The coaches have a responsibility and so do that players, as the rest of management has, so everyone needs to own their role."
So far, the All Blacks have only shown glimpses of their ability, enough to stave off the hounds with victory over the Springboks at Ellis Park, but not enough to prevent unwanted history against opponents they have previously dominated.
Perhaps one word sums up their shortcomings so far.
"There's always the hunger there, but there were periods where it was good and there were periods where it wasn't good enough," said Retallick. "The challenge is doing it consistently, weekend after weekend and for 80 minutes.
"That's the challenge and that's where we need to get to."
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