Coping with a "dead" knee has been the major factor in Sitiveni Sivivatu's puzzling NPC form - though he expects to recover before the All Blacks head to Europe.
The All Black wing ruptured posterior cruciate ligaments in his left knee before the first Tri Nations game against South Africaand consequently has lost some of the feeling in the joint.
Coming to terms with the injury has been a battle for the 23-year-old.
It forced him to miss the entire Tri Nations campaign, which sapped not only his confidence but also much of his conditioning.
When he returned to the NPC, he was short of match fitness and wary of running on a knee that felt different.
Inevitably, his form suffered and Sivivatu, one of the best finishers and electric runners in world rugby, has made no impact during Waikato's NPC campaign.
His problem was initially dealing with the mechanics of the injury, but in recent weeks the psychological impact has become the more pressing concern.
The loss of feeling in his leg has built frustration and made him cautious about possibly aggravating the condition. However, his medical team have stressed that playing will not worsen the condition, nor is it likely to be permanent.
His manager, Laurie Flitten, says the past few weeks have been about building Sivivatu's confidence and helping him understand that his knee is not preventing him from fulfilling his potential.
"He's pretty confident and pretty happy in himself now," says Flitten.
"There is a small sensation loss in the leg and that's caused a lot of frustration. He lost a lot of muscle tone in South Africa.
" He's looking a lot trimmer now and is back to where he was before the injury.
"He knows more than anyone that if he wants to go on this end-of-year tour, he has to perform.
"There is no feeling in one leg, so it is like he is running on one leg. He can't do any more damage to it. He just has to learn to play with the feeling loss.
"By not playing, it is not going to help the situation."
Despite not having posted any memorable NPC performances, Sivivatu is still thought to be almost certain for the All Blacks Grand Slam tour.
