Injured Springbok flyhalf Handre Pollard is positive he will rejoin the world champions for the close of their 2022 Test season in the northern hemisphere.

Pollard, whose Rugby Championship campaign was cut short due to a knee injury, is reportedly in line to make his Premiership debut for Leicester Tigers sooner than expected.

Jacques Nienaber was doubtful that Pollard would be available for the Boks’ November tour, yet the 63-Test-cap pivot is more optimistic after undergoing further assessment with the Tigers.

“The body is good,” Pollard, a travelling reserve for the recent win over Northampton Saints, told Leicestershire Live.

“I am really coming along nicely. [I’m] just trying to get as much done as possible. I’ve still got a couple of boxes to tick, from the initial diagnosis we had in Australia, I’ve come back to London and got a different one, which was a lot more positive.

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“I’m working hard, it’s really feeling good, so we will see how we go on from here.”

He added: “We’re still taking it day by day. We’ve still got a couple of boxes to tick but I am very excited and optimistic. I should be good to go for the end-of-year series.”

The Boks are scheduled to play Tests against Ireland, France, Italy and England, as well as midweek games against Bristol Bears and Munster.

Pollard also allayed fears that his injury setback was a recurrence of an ACL issue which plagued his stint at Montpellier in France.

“This is completely different,” the 28-year-old said. “It’s a little bit of a tear in the meniscus. It’s a lot better than we originally thought and it’s going really well.”

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