Australia centre Reece Hodge says he would never refuse a call-up before next year's Rugby World Cup on home soil despite playing just seven club games in three years.
Versatile Hodge, who can feature across the back-line, has been haunted by various injuries since he left the Melbourne Rebels for Bayonne at the end of 2023.
The 32-year-old left the French outfit when his contract ended in June but has stayed in the Basque country as he recovers from a knee issue with the World Cup kicking off in 12 months' time.
"I've never closed the door on playing for the Wallabies again. You'd be silly to do that while you're still playing rugby," Hodge told AFP on Tuesday.
"If that opportunity came up again, I'd never say no, but at this stage, it looks pretty unlikely.
"For me, my focus is just to get back playing and we'll see what happens from there," the 63-time Wallaby added.
Hodge's injury struggles started with a foot problem which was followed by groin and knee issues, meaning he has played a meagre 394 minutes of rugby across three campaigns in the French Top 14.
He now trains at a local gym near to his home on the surf-paradise of the Atlantic coast and visits a physio based two hours north in Bordeaux as he looks for a new club.
"It's definitely been tough mentally," Hodge said.
"But while I've been injured for over two years now, for the majority of that period, I've been paid to be a professional rugby player.
"So you can never describe doing what you love every day as a nightmare.
"I'm still nowhere near 100 per cent but it's nice to be moving in the right direction finally," he added.
- SPRINGBOK STEP UP -
Australia host in-form World Cup holders South Africa on Saturday in the biggest test of new coach Les Kiss' blossoming tenure.
Kiss took over from Joe Schmidt in August and has yet to lose as Wallabies boss in four outings – two wins over Japan before a victory and a draw during a two-match series in Argentina.
"That first test in Argentina, I really liked the style of play that we were playing with and seemed like there were some strides forward in terms of the game style," Hodge said.
"It's going to be another step up this weekend against South Africa," he added.
Starting at scrum-half for the Springboks in Perth will be Hodge's former Bayonne teammate in Herschel Jantjies.
Jantjies, 30, makes his first run-on appearance for the Boks since November 2021 in a chance to stake a claim for a spot in the World Cup squad.
"Unfortunately with my injury, I didn't get to play with him at all throughout our time at Bayonne together," Hodge said.
"But he's definitely a threat in and around the rucks.
"I think he's still obviously up to international level and hopefully he goes well this weekend, but not too well.
"Hopefully the Aussie boys put a bit of pressure on him," Hodge jokingly added.