HE may be injured and on holidays on the other side of the world, but the footy never sleeps for Nic Naitanui.

The star Eagle yesterday made a cameo appearance at training for an Aussie Rules club in Israel, providing the Tel Aviv Cheetahs with some words of wisdom.

It came after Naitanui revealed he had failed to escape footy fans on his trip, which included swimming in the Dead Sea and visiting the Old Town at Jerusalem.

“There’s been a couple of dirty looks at the more tourist-y sites,” Naitanui told The Four Hoarsemen podcast.

“People look and then look again and think ‘Surely not… what’s he doing here on his own? He’s got no mates’.

“I travelled across here to try to escape the Aussies, but they’re everywhere.

“But it’s good. They love the footy, the small expat community that’s over here at the moment.

“The majority are obviously Victorian, and there’s a fair chunk who are Collingwood supporters. So they aren’t too happy with me.

“But it’s always good to hear the Australian accent over here.”

Naitanui said rehab on his injured knee was progressing well as he eyes a playing comeback in the second half of 2019.

“I”ve started doing a lot of my rehab and cross-training and weights with my leg,” he said.

“I start running as soon as I get back from Israel.”