And with a late reshuffle in the three-quarters contributing to the All Black's Tri-Nations defeat against Australia last Saturday, Smith may have made a timely return from his latest setback.
"I felt pretty good. There wasn't, obviously, too much running out there at any real pace so I thought I could get through 60," the Hurricanes and Wellington number 13 told The Dominion Post.
"I took a while to get into it. I haven't played for a while but after about 15 minutes I got into it and it was good after that - I didn't even notice it, which is what I wanted out of the day.
"I'll try to get through a full game and join the (New Zealand) team when they come back for camp again before the Christchurch test in two weeks. If I can get through another game I'll join the team."
All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith was positive about his namesake's chances.
"We don't have to finalise the World Cup squad until August 14 - it's possible we can leave a space available for issues like Conrad's," he said.
"Hopefully that won't be the case and he'll get an opportunity to show us what he's got over the next couple of weeks."
"Conrad's on a plan. Our medical people are talking to him constantly.
"He's had 10 days of pretty hard training, he's played club rugby this weekend and I'd like to go and see him next weekend when we've got a bye to keep an eye on his progress."
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