Workaholic back-rower Micheal Luck has vowed to return from his horrific leg injury in time to help the Warriors secure an NRL finals berth.

The studs of Manly forward Anthony Watmough ripped open Luck's leg on Saturday night, the ghastly sight of the 18-centimetre cut almost made his skipper throw up.

But after being stitched up in Sydney the workhorse wants to help his side make the finals.

"If I could play this weekend I would but I think it would be pretty optimistic to get back this weekend," Luck said as he limped out of Auckland airport on Monday night.

If the Warriors manage to beat Brisbane at Mt Smart on Friday night, they'll clinch a place in the finals, but a loss would see the Kiwi side slip into a bun fight with five other teams for the last two spots.

"I'm not a very good spectator, especially this game, it's always an important game, one of the biggest games of the year - Broncos at home, Friday night footy," Luck said.

"And this one now takes on a lot more relevance because of the position we're both in on the ladder so it will be a pretty tough job watching."

The last time injury forced Luck to miss a game, the Warriors were hammered by Wests Tigers 50-6 but the 28-year-old said his side have come a long way since that shocker back in round 12.

"We've worked very hard off the field since then," he said.

"Everyone knows their job.

"If we stick to a plan that the coach has set earlier in the week, I've got no doubt we can put on a good show.

"There's definitely still things there to be excited about."

While there's a question mark over whether Luck will be back in time to play again this year, the vice-captain is hungry to see his side progress through to finals footy.

"I'll do everything I can to make sure that I give myself every chance against Parramatta (in round 26) and then hopefully we can win one more and be there the next week," he said.

Warriors coach Ivan Cleary said the gaping wound on Luck's left leg looked like a shark bite and captain Mannering thought he was going to vomit when he saw the gash.

But the tough back-rower himself has described it as "nothing", the adrenaline pumping through his veins helping him get through the tackle set before realising the extent of his gruesome injury.

"It was nothing, it just felt like a bang on the leg, I realised what had happened when we had that break in play and I looked down and saw a bit of blood there," he said.

"It wasn't real pretty. There was a bit of blood in the sock and it filled the boot up. It was pretty gruesome.

"I must have fell straight on his boot with enough force to just rip it open like that."

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