A confident Bradman Best has full trust in his body not to let him down again when he makes his highly-anticipated return from ankle surgery against the Canberra Raiders on Saturday at Suncorp Stadium.
The powerhouse Best, who has been plagued by injury during his short career, is back to bolster a Knights side in desperate need of victory against the resurgent Raiders to resuscitate their finals hopes.
And in a further boost, fullback Kalyn Ponga has played down the significance of a sternum injury that hampered him in the loss to Sydney Roosters and is in no doubt for the Raiders game.
But a call on the fitness and possible return of key figure Mitchell Pearce won't be made until later in the week.
Pearce wants to play and the Knights desperately need his on-field experienced and direction. But there are still lingering doubts over whether he has completely recovered from the slightly torn hamstring that's seen him miss losses to the Storm and Roosters.
The fact coach Adam O'Brien named him in jumper No.21 and switched halves pairing Jake Clifford and Phoenix Crossland around suggests Pearce is less than a 50/50 proposition of playing.
Both Best and Ponga were hopeful rather than confident Pearce would be cleared with Ponga saying: "Fingers crossed. From what he is saying to us, he is doing everything he can to get back. But I guess no-one really knows their body unless it's them."
TOOHEY'S NEWS: Knights star faces contract ultimatum
Best, who could have played against the Roosters last week at a pinch after being out for the past seven weeks, can't wait to get back on the field.
"It's always tough to see the boys lose but I'm excited I can come back and add a bit of spark and hopefully bring some energy to the boys," he said. "It's a pretty big game for us."
Asked about how confident he is given his injury history, Best said: "I'm not worried about my body. I've been through this a fair few times now and my body's pretty good at the moment. I'm just keen to get out there."
Ponga played down his sternum issue but admitted the pain-killing needle he had for the Roosters game was a "life-saver".
"Physically, I feel pretty good. It's just like a bruise. The needle was a life-saver," he said.
Ponga said Best's return is "massive" for the side.
"The poor fella's had a few injuries but one thing about him is he never complains, he's always excited, he's got a very steely mentality and he's an asset to our team definitely and it's exciting to have him back," he said.
