Warriors centre Dane Nielsen is optimistic he can recover from an ankle sprain in time to take the field against the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday.
Nielsen looked set for a stint on the sidelines when he hobbled after just 12 minutes of the 28-24 NRL defeat to Penrith last weekend.
But he has responded well to treatment and will travel to Queensland with the Warriors squad on Thursday.
Nielsen says he's normally a quick healer, but the present injury, which he picked up tackling opposite Dean Whare, is the first of its kind for him.
So it's a case of wait and see, although he's doing all the right things with his rehab.
"I'm ticking all the boxes," he said.
"It's not a full week in-between, so hopefully I have time on my side and I'll be right to play."
A premiership winner with Melbourne and three-time Queensland Origin rep, Nielsen says one thing he won't do is take the field if he's not right.
With the Warriors already walking a tightrope to make the finals, he doesn't want to be a handicap by playing when he's not ready.
The Warriors go into the weekend on the back of three losses, which have pushed them down to 13th on the table.
But the compressed nature of the competition means they are just two points behind the eighth-placed Titans.
"After dropping those games in a row, we've got ourselves in a bad spot and we need to win every game and rely on other results," Nielsen said.
"It's pressure but it's something we know and we're not hiding from it. We're not scared of it. It's reality.
"We know we have to win games if we want to be there come semi-final time."
