James O'Connor gunning for a gold jersey

THIS is a sight to warm the heart of Wallabies coach Robbie Deans. James O'Connor is all dressed up and ready for action.

James O'Connor

THIS is a sight to warm the heart of Wallabies coach Robbie Deans. James O'Connor is all dressed up and ready for action.

As Queensland's Quade Cooper prepares to make a late run for the Wallabies' No. 10 jersey, he may have a shock rival - his best mate O'Connor.

Just under four weeks since lacerating his liver playing for Melbourne Rebels against NSW, O'Connor resumed training on Thursday and is targeting a return against the Brumbies in a fortnight, seven days before the first Test against Wales.

O'Connor will undergo scans tomorrow to determine when he can begin contact training.

He wants to play in Melbourne's clash with the Brumbies on June 1 and stick his hand up for Test consideration.

From expecting neither to be available to play Wales, Test coach Robbie Deans could now have the luxury of two superstars in O'Connor and Cooper ready to suit up for the Wallabies.

"I am pretty confident (of being available for the Wallabies) based on what I am doing now," O'Connor said.

"I ran at 90 per cent on Thursday and I feel fine in terms of moving around the field.

"It's going to be a matter of how quickly my body has healed, but if it's healed nicely, then yeah, I'll get back into contact next week and that'll be three weeks preparation before I play.

"It gives me enough time, but it all depends on what the body is going to let me do."

O'Connor has been sidelined since the Rebels' loss to the Waratahs in Sydney on April 21, where he suffered an accidental knee from the Waratahs' Berrick Barnes while catching a kick.

He got up and bravely played on, but O'Connor later left the field and ended up in hospital with a lacerated liver.

"It wasn't pretty. It was like when I ruptured my spleen when I did it, just that nervy pain," O'Connor said.

"It felt like when you go to the dentist and you know you get a drill hit a nerve?

"It felt like that, but it was inside you, and it hurt like hell every time you breathed."

Initial forecasts set a return date of six or seven weeks, but O'Connor hopes he can follow the lead of Roosters centre Shaun Kenny-Dowall, who played five weeks after he lacerated a kidney.

"All things going well I would like to be back by the Brumbies game," O'Connor said. "It just depends on how quickly my body has been healing. Everyone heals at a different rate, and it's a pretty major organ.

"From (this) week, I will be training full-on but just won't be doing any contact until I get the all-clear from the surgeon.

"When I get that, I can start getting into some contact and I will be put my hand up for selection."

Kurtley Beale had done such a stellar job in replacing O'Connor in the Rebels' No. 10 jersey that he emerged as the leading candidate for the Wallabies' five-eighth role.

With Cooper and O'Connor both potentially back in the selection mix, Deans will now have to re-visit his thinking and determine when, or even if, he'll use the pair in June.

Deans - and Rebels coach Damien Hill - have both said they will use caution when it comes to bringing O'Connor back into action after such a serious injury.

The issue that could arise for Cooper and O'Connor, if overlooked for the Wales series, is getting game time. Super Rugby teams begin their three-week hiatus in early June and the star players would have to play club rugby to keep building match fitness.

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