Wayne Smith signalled an end to the worries surrounding the haematoma injury to Dan Carter on Tuesday, ahead of the clash with Wales.
Carter took a day off with the rest of the squad in a rainy Cardiff to recover from the win over Australia in Tokyo on Saturday, while the coaches confessed they had already chosen the team, hinting strongly that Carter will be there,
"Rather than a strain it's a bruise. He's walking around pretty well, he'll do a managed run tomorrow as part of training, then it's just a matter of getting him through to the game," Smith said.
"I'd imagine he would be (available)."
Carter, could break Andrew Mehrtens' record for All Blacks Test points scored, as he currently sits just shy of Mehrtens' 967 benchmark.
Other injury concerns were also allayed, with Luke McAlister working well, although Tamati Ellison and Liam Messam are both unlikely to be fit.
Smith also laughed off Warren Gatland's attempt to stir the pot by saying the All Blacks had 'lost their aura of invincibility', retorting that his side would now have something extra to motivate themselves from.
"Some (All Blacks) players will use that as a bit of motivation to prove something," Smith said.
"Part of his philosophy will be to try and get a rise out of us, and part of it will be to try and get his own players up."
New Zealand haven't lost a Test on a northern hemisphere tour since 2002, aside from the obvious hiccup in the 2007 World Cup quarter-final against France.
Smith said the All Blacks coaches had settled on their side, which wouldn't be publicly revealed until early Thursday, but it appeared Carter would be there as he sits just 15 points shy of Andrew Mehrtens' All Blacks Test pointscoring record of 967.
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