England captain Lewis Moody will return to action for his club side Bath on Sunday despite being told by doctors he may never see perfectly again.
Moody has been out since 1 October after damaging the retina in his left eye playing against Gloucester.
"The eye will probably never be perfect anymore," said Moody.
Following Bath's game against Harlequins, Moody will return to the England camp ahead of the first Test against New Zealand on 6 November.
The injury occurred during a collision with Gloucester full-back Charlie Sharples. Moody was blind in the eye for 24 hours and the blow has left a scar that could cause a permanent blurring of his sight.
But the flanker insisted on being released to play for his club - just six days before England tackle the All Blacks at Twickenham.
"I bruised the retina and part of the macula and that has left a slight scar just across the back which means part of your vision is distorted," he said.
"It could get better and hopefully over time it will do. Your brain learns to ignore it apparently. It might take my brain slightly longer than most!
"I have had all the specialists and they have all looked after me very well. The improvement was rapid and now it is at a level when I have to get on with it."
The 32-year-old suffered the injury attempting to charge down a kick, which is part of the game he relishes.
"I genuinely hope they don't relieve me of duties like the kick-chase," he added. "It is part of the game I enjoy. This was a freak accident.
"I have trained the last two weeks and there have been no issues and thankfully I can get a game this weekend.
"I'm just hugely relieved to be back. I just want to get back playing, as any sportsman does.
"It is not ideal to be playing six days before the All Blacks game but it makes no difference to me. I really wanted to play. If I was going to be picked for the All Blacks game I didn't want to go in having not played a game."
After New Zealand, England take on Australia, South Africa and Samoa on consecutive Saturdays at Twickenham.
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