Australia ace Will Genia reckons his prolonged injury absence will prove a blessing in disguise.
The Wallabies and Queensland Reds scrum-half tore his anterior cruciate ligament against September.
But he has returned to pre-season training with the Reds ahead of the Super Rugby competitions and is expected back on the pitch within three months.
''I reckon the injury for me is definitely a blessing in disguise,'' said Genia to the Sydney Morning Herald.
''Obviously I'd like to be playing as much as I can but it's given me time off.
“The last three, four years I've been playing a lot of rugby, almost every game of Super Rugby and almost every Test.
“To have the opportunity to have a complete mental break from preparing to play and playing as well has been quite refreshing for me and I've enjoyed it.''
''Spending time with just the guys you wouldn't normally spend during pre-season [at the Reds], you build better relationships and you build more bonds."
''To see how the boys have been working quite hard and then you see the Wallabies guys come back from the spring tour and the level does go up and the intensity, the skill level and everything.''
''Physically things come back quite quickly in terms of the process but mentally to get into your head that you've got to do every little thing really well so that the knee can heal and you give it time. Especially when you sit down and watch the boys play, that's quite tough as well.''
Genia has been straight-line running in the last three weeks and hopes to return to action ahead of schedule, with the visit of Warren Gatland’s Lions looming on the horizon.
"I think mentally it's been the hardest,'' said Genia.
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'Physically things come back quite quickly in terms of the process but mentally to get into your head that you've got to do every little thing really well so that the knee can heal and you give it time. Especially when you sit down and watch the boys play, that's quite tough as well.''
