Not only did he spend two weeks visiting Rio and Kyrie back in New Zealand, but he'll return to watch his eldest Rio play his first game of rugby league this weekend.

Then, he'll return to Canberra and see the specialist on Thursday, and hopefully get the all-clear to resume contact training.

His sights are set on returning for the Canberra Raiders' clash against the Sydney Roosters at Gosford on May 29.

If not, then it will be after the Green Machine's round 13 bye.

Nicoll-Klokstad suffered a bulging disc from a crusher tackle that went unpunished against Penrith.

After a short stint across the Ditch, he trained with the team for the first time this week.

Now it's a matter of ticking the boxes with a view to returning to the field in a fortnight.

"I get a scan early Thursday morning and catch up with the specialist in the afternoon, and then hopefully he gives me the all clear to come back to play," Nicoll-Klokstad said.

"Then after that it's all about me feeling comfortable with the contact and when I'm ready with that I'll be good to go.

"The best scenario would be to get cleared and have a week of contact and then maybe push for Roosters, but at this stage worst-case scenario would be maybe the game after the bye.

"It just all depends on what the specialist says. We're pretty optimistic with everything at the moment, but he has the final say."

MORE RAIDERS NEWS

While no one ever enjoys being injured, the upside was it allowed Nicoll-Klokstad to return to his native New Zealand - ending a painfully long time since he'd last seen his boys.

The coronavirus pandemic has even made travelling across the Tasman problematic, but the new travel bubble set up between the neighbouring countries there's no longer a need for quarantine.

That means he's able to duck back over this weekend for when Rio runs out for the Taupo Phoenix for the first time, while the Raiders travel to Brisbane for Magic Round.

"[Raiders coach Ricky Stuart's] given me the weekend off. My oldest boy plays his first seasoned footy game this weekend and I'll be shooting back to watch him do that," Nicoll-Klokstad said.

"I'm really excited for him and really excited to see the next generation coming through."

The Green Machine will look to end their five-game losing streak when they face the Canterbury Bulldogs at Lang Park on Saturday.

Nicoll-Klokstad said the mood was still good as they focus on themselves to return to winning ways.

In the New Zealand international's absence, Caleb Aekins has had his first chance to impress in lime green since switching from the Panthers during the off-season.

Aekins' management will look to sit down with the Raiders at the end of the month to talk about extending his one-year deal.

The 23-year-old has impressed Nicoll-Klokstad since deputising in the No.1 jersey.

"He's done a really good job. I was really surprised Penrith let him go because when they started the [2020 NRL] season it was without Dylan Edwards and he filled that spot really well," he said.

"They started their run [to the grand final] with him playing so it was a little bit of a shock when they let him go, but I was very happy he signed with us.

"He's been everywhere in attack and he's been doing a really good job in defence too."

NRL ROUND 10

Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Canterbury Bulldogs at Lang Park, 3pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Caleb Aekins, 2. Bailey Simonsson, 3. Sebastian Kris, 4. Curtis Scott, 5. Semi Valemei, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. George Williams, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Tom Starling, 10. Emre Guler, 11. Corey Harawira-Naera, 12. Elliott Whitehead (c), 13. Hudson Young. Interchange: 14. Josh Hodgson, 15. Dunamis Lui, 16. Corey Horsburgh, 17. Ryan James. Reserves: 18. Sam Williams, 19. Matt Timoko, 20. Siliva Havili, 21. Harry Rushton.

Bulldogs squad: 1. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Will Hopoate, 4. Nick Meaney, 5. Tuipulotu Katoa, 6. Brandon Wakeham, 7. Jake Averillo, 8. Dylan Napa, 9. Sione Katoa, 10. Luke Thompson, 11. Adam Elliott, 12. Chris Smith, 13. Renouf Atoni. Interchange: 14. Bradley Deitz, 15. Corey Waddell, 16. Ava Seumanufagai, 17. Matt Doorey. Reserves: 19. Kyle Flanagan, 20. Joe Stimson, 21. Aaron Schoupp, 23. Ofahiki Ogden.