Out for three months since ankle surgery, Lealiifano made a low-profile return in an ACT club rugby pre-season match for the Tuggeranong Vikings on Saturday afternoon, scoring a 40-metre try and kicking three goals in a solid 60 minute hit-out.

Lealiifano has grown a beard during his rehabilitation and quit alcohol, part of a show of support for fellow injured teammate Fotu Auelua, who is out for another two months with a knee injury.

"Every time I'm injured, I try to commit to something to see if I've got that willpower,'' Lealiifano said, explaining the long whiskers. "When Fots got injured, I made a commitment to him [to quit alcohol] so then he could make a commitment back. It's just supporting each other."

Lealiifano said he had been tempted to jump straight back into Super Rugby with the Brumbies against the Stormers this weekend, given the ACT had eight front-line players unavailable. But the 26-year-old is aiming for a clean-shaven return against the Melbourne Rebels on Friday night.

"I think I'm ready, maybe not an 80-minute performance but let's see how we go,'' Lealiifano said. "I enjoyed running around today, blowing out the cobwebs and the ankle feels good.

"There's always temptation to come back and obviously with our injury toll it was in the back of my mind. But I put complete faith in the medical staff and coaches to do the right thing by me and I'm glad they've done that.

"This was a good chance for me to try and build some confidence again before testing myself out in the big arena – to get all the contact back, get some touches on the footy and get all the rust out. I'm looking forward to progressing."

Lealiifano dislocated the ankle in a season-ending injury in 2012 and revealed he'd had trouble with the joint all of last year, despite leading the Brumbies to the Super Rugby final and representing the Wallabies.

"The ankle is the best it's felt for a long time, I'm really happy with it," he said.

"The aim is to come back better than I've ever been. I feel like I'm hitting my goals at the moment and keen to test myself now."