It's the phone call from the other side of the world set to save the Canberra Raiders' season.
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Raiders star recruit John Bateman has been cleared to play the Canterbury Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night as the Green Machine look to snap a three-game losing streak.
The England international's return is a massive boost as the Raiders battle a rising injury toll and a rising State of Origin representation.
A Sydney specialist cleared Bateman to play on Thursday following his rapid recovery from surgery on the fractured eye socket he suffered in a collision with Penrith behemoth Viliame Kikau.
He was meant to be out until at least round 15, but has returned four weeks ahead of schedule.
Bateman has surprised even himself with how quickly he's recovered.
He told English media he would be back to face the Wests Tigers next week after he returned home to visit family and friends during his recovery period.
But after he watched the Raiders' loss to North Queensland last Saturday, he knew he was ready.
So he rang Canberra coach Ricky Stuart to let him know.
"I knew in the back of my head I wanted to come back [early]. I had my own little target," Bateman said.
"I said the Tigers game, that's what I had in my mind, but when I was training over there I felt pretty good.
"I rang 'Stick' after the game, it was Saturday morning for me, and I said, 'I'll be good to go next week'.
"I don't think he really believed me."
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And no, Stuart didn't believe him.
But that doesn't change the fact Bateman's return is a massive boost for the Green Machine.
Not only is Bateman an international, who can play a number of positions, but he's a winner as well.
It's no coincidence his arrival in Canberra coincided with their return to the top eight and their three losses in a row came in his absence.
Plus the Raiders have three of their best players out for Origin duty (Jack Wighton, Nick Cotric and Josh Papalii), as well as another three with injury as well (Jordan Rapana, Josh Hodgson and Joey Leilua).
"Johnny rang me after the game on [Saturday] night from England and said 'I'll be right to play'," Stuart said.
"I took it as a really good team man and sees we're struggling in regards to depth and I didn't think much of it to be quite honest.
"We had Steve our doctor organise a specialist appointment and fortunately for us he's cleared to play.
"He's been a really big boost for the club ever since he got here. His energy and enthusiasm around the club and around training, it's a great lift to the guys.
"You've got to be a special player, a special person to lift and inspire other people and he does that. It's a good bit of energy for us today."
Bateman might've gone home to recover from the surgery, but he's kept himself in shape while he's been away.
He returned to training in Canberra on Tuesday after spending a couple of weeks back in England.
"As soon as I had the operation on the Tuesday I flew back [to England] on the Friday," Bateman said.
"I knew how I was feeling and what direction I wanted to go in and I kept on training while I was over there.
"I went to the gym and trained quite a lot with a couple of my mates."
But the Raiders are keeping exactly where Bateman will play close to their chest.
"I'll start him. I don't know [where] yet," Stuart said.
While Bateman said they would decide on Saturday morning.
"We haven't spoken about where I'm going to fit in. We'll make that decision tomorrow [Saturday]," he said.
"We'll let today settle and then we'll talk about it tomorrow where he wants me to play."
The 25-year-old can play a number of positions, including lock, second row and centre.
Stuart needs cover in all three, but the fact he said Emre Guler will drop out of the 17 points towards him playing in the forwards.
With Joe Tapine playing just his second game back from an ankle injury, Bateman could slot into the second row, allowing Tapine to be part of the middle rotation.
"'Taps' takes a little time to find his game energy and that'll be part of how I balance the bench and the team," Stuart said.
"The more games Joey plays the quicker he'll get back to full game fitness.
"He plays with a lot of energy and it takes him a month or so to get back into the full swing of things."
The Bulldogs game will also determine who partners Wighton in the halves when the five-eighth returns from NSW Blues duty.
How Sam Williams and Aidan Sezer perform will decide who wears the No.7 jersey against the Tigers next week.
"They're both good football players and they both understand the situation we're in," Stuart said.
"Jack will come back in next week and performance this weekend is going to be a big indicator as to who's going to be the half."
NRL ROUND 12
Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Canterbury Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium, 7.35pm.
Raiders squad: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Bailey Simonsson, 3. Jarrod Croker (C), 4. Sebastian Kris, 5. Michael Oldfield, 6. Aidan Sezer, 7. Sam Williams, 8. Corey Horsburgh, 9. Siliva Havili, 10. Dunamis Lui, 11. Joe Tapine, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Hudson Young. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Sia Soliola, 17. Ryan Sutton. Reserves: 18. Ata Hingano, 19. Royce Hunt, 20. Andre Niko, 21. John Bateman.
Bulldogs squad: 1. Nick Meaney, 2. Christian Crichton, 3. Marcelo Montoya, 4. Will Hopoate, 5. Reimis Smith, 6. Kieran Foran, 7. Jack Cogger, 8. Aiden Tolman, 9. Jeremy Marshall-King, 10. Ofahiki Ogden, 11. Josh Jackson, 12. Corey Harawira-Naera, 13. Chris Smith. Interchange: 14. Rhyse Martin, 15. Raymond Faitala-Mariner, 16. Danny Fualalo, 17. Jesse Sue. Reserves: 19. Michael Lichaa, 20. Lachlan Lewis, 21. Kerrod Holland, 23. Adam Elliott.