As Siya Kolisi nears his return for the Springboks, the talismanic loose forward says he has reached a stage where he doesn’t even think about his injury in contact.

There were real doubts that Kolisi would be fit in time to play at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, especially since the inspirational captain only has two warm-up games to pick up momentum before the global tournament gets underway.

But, Kolisi’s name was on Tuesday among those chosen to travel to France, with SA Rugby confirming that the loose forward had recovered sufficiently from knee surgery and is set to be back for the Boks’ penultimate warm-up match against Wales in Cardiff.

Kolisi initially feared he would miss the World Cup, yet was in good spirits at the title-holders’ send-off at OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg on Saturday.

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The 32-year-old was quizzed on his readiness for action, and told reporters: “You can only know that when you get on the field.

“Our training sessions help a lot because they’re like club rugby games. The most important thing for me is I’m not thinking about the knee at the moment. The fitness will come.

“We had a session on Thursday where it got heated a little bit, but in a good way, and I forgot about my knee and just got stuck in.

“That’s a good sign. Getting over that [expectation of contact] is all I care about right now. I just need to get as many minutes on the field and in training as possible.

“The coaches are making sure that I don’t swap in during training and I stay on the whole time, which is tough on the fitness.”

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Kolisi added: “Right now I’m not worried about the knee. If something happens, it happens. If I go in there with those small voices in my head, I won’t be able to lead the group.

“That’s why training and what I do in the week have been so important … there’s no ways I’m playing and having doubts in my head.

“Also, what I enjoy about the leaders in the group, I can tell them ‘just take charge for a bit of time so I can focus on me’ because I’m always at my best when I’m playing and playing well.

“I can be open and honest about that because it’s not about me, it’s about what the team needs at that time.”

The Boks will face Wales at the Principality Stadium next Saturday, 19 August, and the All Blacks in London the following Friday, 25 August, before departing for a week-long training camp in Corsica en route to their World Cup base in Toulon.

Their opening match of the tournament is against Scotland in Marseille on Sunday, 10 September.

Photo: Phill Magakoe/AFP