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At the height of her agony, Laura Langman wanted to collapse from the pain whenever she attempted to run on her broken foot.
But yesterday, the Silver Ferns midcourt hope declared herself pain-free and raring to play at the world netball championships in four days.
It's looking more
and more likely that 21-year-old Langman will be deemed fit enough to stand her ground in the Ferns side - and standby players such as former vice-captain Temepara George will take their seats higher up in the Trusts Stadiumstand.
While New Zealand coach Ruth Aitken will reserve the final decision on Langman's spot until later in the week, the smiles on the faces of coach and player after a training game in Auckland yesterday made it clear their concern was fading.
Despite the frustration of wanting to do more to speed up the healing process, Langman stressed she had followed medical advice to the letter.
"Slow and steady wins the race.
"At the moment, I have no pain whatsoever, so if it carries on like this it will be all guns blazing. I don't feel it when I walk, but when I go to do something I shouldn't do, it tells me 'no'.
"At the start, it was the kind of pain where you want to collapse to get rid of it. But the last couple of days it's been completely fine."
Langman admitted her recovery was partly driven by knowing the ultra-experienced George was waiting in the wings, but she still kept in her mind what was best for the team.
Yet to play a full hour on the healing fracture, Langman trained yesterday for "a considerable amount of time", Aitken said. There would be no cotton wool from here on in - the load would be increased every day through to the tournament.
"She sets herself standards, so she's feeling nervous about coming back - but that's natural," said Aitken. "But I think the huge confidence the team have in her will help her through."
The team trained yesterday with six additional New Zealand squad members to make up numbers. After a defensive workout with former Ferns captain Wai Taumaunu on Sunday night - and previous sessions with Sandra Edge and Belinda Colling - the last days of the build-up will be an internal affair, with Aitken and assistant coach Leigh Gibbs calling the shots.
"It's been great to have some other netball brains, but from now on it's just me and Leigh. They'll have to start listening to us now," Aitken quipped.
All focus would be on the Ferns, ignoring the arrivals of the other nations - especially the Australians, who got to Auckland last night.
"We've not really focused on them at all. It's most important now to look after our game, to get that sorted and get our confidence up," she said.
"Australia, England and Jamaica have already been looked at and covered in great detail."
Although they are the defending champions playing at home, the Silver Ferns have been labelled the underdogs after losses to England and Australia this season.
Aitken almost wears the label with pride.
"In the last eight to 10 months, our performances internationally have been up and down. We know it's not about the final hurdle, it's about establishing our game. Underdog, top dog, it won't matter once we get out on court," she said.
"It felt funny getting in my car and driving to the world championships yesterday ... There's quite an excited nervousness about the group - they're sick of training and they just want to play the games."
