Four key players are batting to overcome injuries as the Highlanders prepare for their Super Rugby campaign.
Lock Jarrad Hoeata, first five-eighth Colin Slade, three-quarter Siale Piutau and midfield back Shaun Treeby have either been ruled out or are touch and go for the tournament opener against the Chiefs in Hamilton on February 24.
Hoeata, an All Black last year, will miss at least the first six weeks of the season after tearing his bicep muscle in pre-season in December.
Hoeata was the outstanding Highlanders' forward last year and he is one of only three specialist locks in this season's squad.
Samoan international Hoani MacDonald, who played 23 games for the Highlanders between 2004 and 2008, has been recalled into the squad as cover. He was off contract after playing for the Melbourne Rebels last year and has signed to play for Southland in the ITM Cup.
Slade, who had a nightmare season with injuries last year, underwent a hernia operation last week and he is in doubt for the season opener.
It is a continuation of a wretched sequence which last year included two broken jaws, one pre-season and the second against the Rebels, and a groin injury in the World Cup quarter-final against Argentina which forced him out of the tournament.
An infection developed from his groin operation, which delayed his recovery.
Coach Jamie Joseph said the hernia had been linked to the groin injury and there was a possibility, if Slade recovered well, that he could be available for the final pre-season game on February 17.
Piutau, who was an integral part of the Tongan World Cup squad, has an ankle in plaster and will miss at least the first month of the competition. He had surgery on a tendon in the ankle and has been in plaster for six weeks.
"It is a shame for Siale as he had an excellent first season for us and a very good World Cup," Joseph said.
"A lot of guys still have injuries and are not taking a full part in training. But these things happen and it is better we are careful with them now and get them right for the season."
Treeby, another impressive newcomer last year, is back in training after an operation to his knee and his progress will be monitored in the next few weeks.
Captain and prop Jamie Mackintosh and lock Josh Bekhuis are recovering from off-season operations and are others who are training only lightly.
The Highlanders spent last week in Wanaka training and team-building and are now back in Dunedin preparing for their first pre-season game, against the Crusaders in Greymouth this weekend.