Boyd Cordner insists he won't put himself before his team and play next week's State of Origin decider if he's not fully fit.
But the Blues captain remains confident he will recover from a calf injury to take to Suncorp Stadium against Queensland.
Cordner, along with lock Tyson Frizell (ribs and back), is one of two players entering Blues camp under a serious injury cloud, while backs James Tedesco and Josh Dugan each have niggling leg problems.
The Sydney Roosters back-rower will give himself until the team's last major training run on Sunday to complete a full session with the team, but he maintains he won't play unless he's confident he can last the full 80 minutes.
"I won't be that selfish," he said.
"I'm not that stupid. I don't want to put the team in a position where if I can't finish the game or it happens early then we're down an interchange.
"I definitely won't be putting myself before the team at all. I want what's best for the team."
Cordner injured his calf in the Origin II defeat at ANZ Stadium and has not played since.
He ran for the first time in his recovery on a weight-bearing machine on Saturday and said he had felt marked improvements by the time he returned to it on Monday morning.
"It's only been (12 days) since Game II," he said.
"It's improving day by day and we've still got a lot of time between now and kick off."
It's not the first time Cordner has been forced to race the clock to get himself fit for a big game.
He returned for Roosters' 2013 grand final win over Manly having not played for seven weeks due to ankle surgery.
On that occasion he played through the pain, but he suggested the challenge to be right for next Wednesday was a far different one.
"It's a different sort of injury," he said.
"This is more a soft tissue which is a bit more tricky. They make up their mind when they want to heal, you can't accelerate that process.
"The ankle was more structural so you could play with the pain a bit more and you can't do more damage."
The 25-year-old also admitted it had taken him days to smile again after the Blues surrendered a 10-point lead to the Maroons in Game II.
Cordner wiped away tears in the post-game media conference as the reality of the loss and his injury set in.
"It was more probably half with the calf and half that we lost the way we did," he said.
"It took me a few days to smile but it's fine.
"That (pain)'s always going to be there until you play again."
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