Winston Reid has declared himself ready to go for the All Whites' friendly against the Republic of Ireland this week, which will finally bring their 525-day wait for a match to an end.

The West Ham United defender has been waiting even longer to play a senior fixture, having been sidelined for more than 600 days after suffering a knee injury while playing in the English Premier League in March last year.

But on Monday in Dublin, after the All Whites had their first – light – session under new coach Danny Hay, he said the prospect of playing on Thursday [Friday NZ Time] was "no problem".

"I did some light training today, I trained all of last week, so there shouldn't be any issues, and I'll be ready."

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Hay may yet opt for caution with Reid, knowing he has plenty of depth in the middle at the back, with Michael Boxall, Tommy Smith, and Bill Tuiloma the other experienced options in his 24-strong squad, and Nando Pijnaker the fresh face.

But it will undoubtedly be good for the team if Reid can be involved – and good for the centre back himself, even though he's maintained a positive attitude during his lengthy battle to get back on the pitch.

"You can't let yourself get too downbeat about things," he said, reflecting on an 18-month stretch that included several setbacks.

"It's part of being an athlete. I've been fortunate enough throughout my career that I haven't had too many serious injuries. There's a few scars here and there, but I've been pretty blessed, so it's just part and parcel of the game.

"It's what you sign up when you're a young kid and you're out there trying to play professional sport, so it's just about trying to be positive and upbeat."

Reid will mark the 10th anniversary of his All Whites debut in March next year, and soon after that it will be 10 years since the standout moment of his career – the headed goal against Slovakia that gave New Zealand its first point at a World Cup.

He has only amassed 24 caps in that time, with injuries ruling him out of the OFC Nations Cup in 2012, the World Cup qualifying playoff in 2013, and the Confederations Cup in 2017, and former coach Anthony Hudson allowing him to skip the last Nations Cup, in 2016.

But his value to the team was clear to see the last time he pulled on the silver fern, for the World Cup playoff against Peru in November 2017, and if he can start playing regularly at club level, he still has a lot to offer the All Whites as they try to qualify for Qatar 2022.

"I'm fortunate enough to have played at a World Cup, so it's more about doing it for these other kids, and giving them an opportunity to try and have that experience and do well with it," Reid said.

"That's what the aim of the group is – to qualify for the World Cup. It's not easy, but you have to be willing to gp out there and prove yourself every time you get the opportunity to do it, and that's all we can do.

"We've got two more years until we have to play the key games, so up until then we have to improve every single time we're in camp."