Connacht captain Jack Carty says he's "touch and go" for the start of the BTK United Rugby Championship next week.
The out-half missed the province's final game of last season after opting to have surgery on his wrist and says a call will be made on his availability for the 17 September visit to Ulster in the next week.
"It's feeling a lot better now," he told RTÉ Sport.
"I'll be touch and go for the start of the season. I'll have to see how the next seven days go, but I'll be there or thereabouts."
The 30-year-old will be badly needed by Connacht in the early stages of the season, who have been handed a notoriously difficult start, with a tour to South Africa following the trip to Ulster, where they will face last year's finalists, the Stormers and the Bulls.
And although they will finally get two home games in a row upon their return, they will be debuting their new 4G surface at the Sportsground with derbies against Munster and Leinster in consecutive games.
.@ConnachtRugby captain Jack Carty tells @neil_treacy he is "touch and go" for the start of the new #URC season as he recovers from wrist surgery - and hopes to add to his 11 Ireland caps this November. #RTERugby pic.twitter.com/5zKt9Y6e0x
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) September 6, 2022
Carty carried the injury throughout last season, and laughs at how the "vice-grip" handshake of one of his father's friends was enough to make him realise the issue needed to be addressed, as he strives to return to the Irish squad ahead of next year's World Cup in France.
"It happened against Ulster in the Rainbow Cup, so 14 months ago, and the thinking behind it was that with the year that's ahead, or that I'd like to have ahead, I didn't want anything to happen in the season.
"Unfortunately I had to make a decision, it was a tough one at the time with New Zealand potentially coming up, but I just thought for myself for the next couple of years it was best to get it done.
"I think this time four years ago I was probably in a similar enough position, so that's the way I have it in my head. I was flirting with the outside of it, I had a brief cameo against France, but I'd like to think that if I look after the next three or four months, that I can break into November, get some minutes there, and see where it goes after that."
Carty begins the season as Connacht's captain, having unofficially held the role throughout the 2021/22 campaign.
The province have also welcomed in seven new signings, four of whom arrived from Leinster, with loosehead prop Peter Dooley, flanker Josh Murphy, versatile back David Hawkshaw and wing Adam Byrne all featuring in their pre-season friendlies against Castres and Sale Sharks.
And while Carty has been impressed with what he's seen from the new arrivals, he says he's expecting big things from the even younger talent that's emerging through Connacht's own pathways.
"Even for Adam [Byrne], he's an international player, Dools has played over 100 times, Hawky has played a good number of times, and then Josh [Murphy, above] just has that steel, he loves mauling and scrummaging, which I think is bizarre, but he loves it and gets stuck in.
"I think the main thing I've seen from a few of them - especially Peter [Dooley] - is how composed he is on the ball. An appreciation of how he takes it to the line, and his linespeed, and I think he's been one of the most impressive players.
"The thing that gets me excited is the younger players who came through the academy, it's 2015 or 2016 since we had a real strong core of younger guys who are hungry to get involved. And not just be happy to be around the squad, hungry to break into the 23.
"Similar to last year where you would have had Cian Prendergast, you'll have another four or five players this year who will bolt out of nowhere, that's what I'm really excited about."
Follow the 2022/23 BTK United Rugby Championship across RTÉ radio, TV, RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.
Watch live coverage of Cardiff v Munster (16 September), Zebre Parma v Leinster (17 September), Stormers v Connacht (24 September) and Dragons v Munster (25 September) on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
