Quade Cooper insists he is not playing injured and believes he can still make a big impact at Test level this year if called upon.
The Queensland Reds five-eighth has enjoyed the odd moment of brilliance in his comeback Super Rugby season but has been well below his best and struggled to impose himself on matches.
NSW Waratahs rival Bernard Foley is clearly ahead in the Wallabies pecking order.
Cooper has been playing with a heavily-strapped left knee in recent weeks, which appears to be affecting both his speed and his kicking ability but said it was not a serious injury.
"As professional rugby players, everyone's got a little niggle," Cooper told AAP.
"I've had a bit of a niggle for a few weeks now but I feel good out there.
"I'm able to train double sessions every day, I'm not missing anything, so I'm not going to say that I'm injured."
Cooper admitted the knee issue had triggered doubts in his own mind over whether he had lost a yard of pace but said training data at the Reds proved otherwise.
The 29-year-old looked like he was playing on one leg against the Waratahs a fortnight ago, and was brutally exposed when he picked off an intercept 20m out from Queensland's own line and made a dash for the other end.
He was quickly chased down but still had the presence of mind to kick ahead for Izaia Perese, who latched onto the grubber pass and scored.
"If I had to, I would have put my head down and backed myself to get there," Cooper said.
Cooper said he was also "annoyed" at some aspects of his defensive play in last week's defeat to the Chiefs, twice missing crucial tackles on veteran Stephen Donald, who scored two tries early in the second half.
Cooper has not put together a full season since 2013 due to injuries but said he felt like he was slowly rediscovering his rhythm, having returned to the Reds this year after an ill-fated stint with Toulon and a spell in the Australian rugby sevens program.
"I know I can be better and I'm always going to be hard on myself," he said.
"It's like anything - if you don't play golf for a while and you get back out there, you're a bit rusty. It's no different with rugby.
"I'm starting to see things better, feel things better. The more I play, the more it just comes naturally. That stuff just comes with more time in the saddle."
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