Sainsbury went under the knife after Australia sealed their 2018 World Cup spot to fix a groin issue which had plagued him in 2017.

More recently, the 26-year-old secured a switch from Chinese club Jiangsu Suning, where he had struggled for game-time, to join Swiss powerhouse Grasshoppers on a six-month loan.

Sainsbury had to watch from the sidelines as Grasshoppers won 1-0 over Zurich on Sunday and is yet to debut for his new club.

“It’s going well,” Sainsbury told the club website when asked about his recovery from injury.

“They’re putting me through some hard work in the gym at the moment, which is nice, but I’ll be back out there shortly.”

Sainsbury’s potential return to competitive action could be timely before new Socceroos boss Bert van Marwijk names his maiden Australia squad for the friendlies against Colombia and Norway next month.

The former Central Coast defender missed the 2014 World Cup due to a knee injury but was a key figure in qualifying for 2018 and is determined to be part of this year’s squad in Russia.

“I missed the opportunity to go to the last World Cup with a broken knee so I had a lot of fire and hunger to qualify for this one,” he said.

“To take a leadership role with this team, we want to do really well at the World Cup and get some good results. For us we’ve got a lot to look forward to.”

Sainsbury added that the move to Switzerland was chiefly motivated by the lure of the World Cup.

“I think it’s a nice club, it’s a proud club with a lot of history, obviously the most titles in Switzerland,” he said.

“It puts a weight on my shoulders and a pressure which I need.

“Obviously with the World Cup coming up I need game-time and to be playing at a high level.

“I can help the squad and they can help me.”