Highlanders coach Glenn Moore hopes both Jimmy Cowan and Jamie Mackintosh will be fit to play the Hurricanes in Wellington on Friday night.
Moore was a happier man yesterday than he was about 8.07pm last Friday, when both Cowan and Mackintosh were on the Carisbrook sidelines watching the Highlanders lose their opening Super 14 game to the Brumbies.
There was a whisper at the ground Cowan had torn his biceps - likely ruling him out of the competition - and serious concern over Mackintosh's knee.
Now, the situation is looking much better, with neither halfback and captain Cowan nor prop and vice-captain Mackintosh appearing to have major injuries.
Cowan has a banged-up elbow and Mackintosh a strained knee and both will be further assessed today.
"It's a bit too early to tell for sure with Jimmy," Moore told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
"He's structurally fine but he's got a fair bit of bruising.
''We'll get a better idea in the next day.
"He's reasonably sore but there's no significant structural damage, which is very positive."
Mackintosh, still a young man but so important to the Highlanders for his leadership and power, is in virtually the same position as his Southland team-mate, just with a different part of the body.
"It looks like Jamie has a strain of the meniscus behind the knee.
''Again, we'll know more in another day," Moore said.
"He's got no structural damage either, so that's good."
A handful of other players had the usual bumps and bruises but nothing that would rule them out of the Hurricanes game, Moore said.
Both New Zealand sides will be hungry to avenge their respective opening-round losses when they meet at Westpac Stadium.
The Highlanders will be eager to shuck their tag of worthy losers, and to do so they will have to avoid the mental and defensive lapses that hurt them against the Brumbies.
The Hurricanes, loaded with talent and picked by many to win the Super 14 for the first time, can hardly afford to lose a second consecutive home game.
