All Blacks great Dan Carter has conceded his "old man calves" may prevent him from ever playing for the Blues, with the injured playmaker left with just one chance to make his Super Rugby Aotearoa debut.
Carter took questions from fans in a Q&A session on his Instagram account to talk about rugby and his career when he admitted even without his injury, he didn't expect to feature in a Blues line-up heading into the competition.
"I wasn't really expecting to [play] to be honest, unless there was an injury to Beauden [Barrett] or Otere [Black]," Carter said.
"Both of those boys have been on fire over the past couple of months, so I'm happy to just contribute and helping out the team whatever way I can.”
Carter stunned rugby fans back in June when he signed with the Blues as an injury replacement for the domestic Super Rugby competition but he has yet to don the Auckland franchise's jersey in a match.
The 38-year-old came close last month when he was named on the Blues' bench to play the Hurricanes before he was scratched due to a calf issue.
It's been three weeks since his injury and the Blues have emphasised they won't push Carter if he isn't ready, although Carter himself told fans he's close.
"I've had a good week," he said.
"Been getting a little bit of running under the belt and the calf is feeling good.
"Old man calves, they take a bit longer than they used to back when I was a young fella so you've just got to be patient with these things."
Helping Carter's cause is the fact the Blues have a bye this week before their final game of the game next Sunday - coincidentally against his old club, the Crusaders.
That game at Eden Park could either have the weight of a final or a dead rubber depending on this weekend's results with the Crusaders only requiring a win against the Highlanders in Christchurch this Sunday to wrap up the competition.
Before heading overseas in 2015 after retiring from international rugby, Carter played 13 seasons for the Crusaders and became Super Rugby's top points scorer.
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