Daniel Carter has his sights set on turning out for his local rugby club of Southbridge en route to his return to rugby after the All Blacks' June tests.
Carter, who had ankle surgery before Christmas, is currently halfway through his six month sabbatical.
He is building up towards full on training again with the view of turning out for the senior side at the Ellesmere club he first played for as a five-year-old.
"I'll be aiming to play for the Crusaders after the June tests and hopefully I can play a couple of games for Southbridge," he says.
"The old man would love that."
Carter was speaking at the launch of Wings for Life World Run charity - a global running event in aid of the fight to find a cure for spinal cord injury.
He has watched some of the early season Super Rugby games and has a message for Crusaders fans and others.
"It's still early days mate, there's plenty of time they'll get better," he said.
Rugby World Cup
With the sabbatical option being utilised by top-line All Blacks to rest and recover, Carter hopes that the extra time off will help his long term goal.
"I'm just doing what I can to be there at the next Rugby World Cup," he said.
"At least when I return to play I know I've had this break done and everything I can to get on top of everything."
