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Cape Town - All Blacks flanker Jerome Kaino is looking forward to getting off the watt bike and back out onto the field against Samoa on Friday.
The blindside has been out since mid-April with a meniscus tear but is now available to Steve Hansen for the All Blacks' warm-up match at Eden Park.
As well as the fixture being special for Kaino because of his heritage, the 34-year-old is also just happy to be out of the gym and hopefully onto the field.
"It will be a special game to be a part of," Kaino told Stuff.
"Myself being Samoan, it's always good to come up against them. We've got to give them a lot of respect.
"I can't look too far ahead to the Lions. Having six weeks out, to be involved in a Test match this week against Samoa will be quite special. Fingers crossed I get the chance to run out and be part of that occasion.
"I'm sick of the watt bike and all those running sessions. There's no substitute for getting out and playing and I'm ready to get amongst it."
Kaino also revealed that he was impressed by the British and Irish Lions' intensity in defence during last Saturday's 12-3 win over the Crusaders, as the tourists bounced back having lost to Kaino's Blues a few days beforehand.
"I always knew the Lions were capable of that type of performance. It was always going to take a couple of games for them to get their combinations sorted.
"One thing that stuck out was their defence. It was a strength against the Barbarians, and when the Blues played them, but they took it a couple of notches up against the Crusaders and forced the Crusaders to make some uncharacteristic mistakes.
"It's definitely shaping up to be a very strong Lions side which we always knew."
