Vickerman vows to comeback

Sydney - Wallabies second-rower Dan Vickerman has declared he will overcome a litany of injuries to play again.

The 32-year-old is still getting over an operation to remove a rod from his shin, but says he is not ready to call time on his rugby career.

''I'm still training, I want to play rugby and as long as I can do that I'll keep going,'' he said.

''Now I've just got to see if I can get over this operation and get back on the field, I want to play with the Tahs and get selected and do my best there. There's still a lot of stuff I want to achieve in my football career - I'm not going to cut it short quite yet.''

Vickerman, an abrasive second-rower who returned from studying at Cambridge University and was immediately called into Australia's Rugby World Cup squad last year, said he hoped to be running again within a month.

''I think once I'm over the operation I'll go through the rehab process and see where we go from there,'' he said.

''I'd like to say once I get over the surgery I'll probably start running in a few weeks time and see if that works for me and then go from there.''

The rod was inserted into his tibia in 2010 in an effort to relieve stress on the bone. It allowed him to play at the World Cup but the stress fracture in his shin continued to cause pain. It is hoped the rod's removal will help.

Vickerman has also had his shoulder reconstructed and has been the subject of speculation about whether he would return.

But at a Waratahs function on Wednesday he said he was ''optimistic'' about his chances of returning.

''It's been a bit of a frustrating ride … you've got to believe in yourself and if I didn't think it was worth giving it a shot, I wouldn't be giving it a shot,'' he said.