Leeds Rhinos forward Carl Ablett is itching to get going and hopes to return to the side in a few weeks after ankle surgery.
Ablett has been missing since September 1 last year and although he started pre-season with the rest of the squad, he eventually had to undergo surgery on the problem.
The second-rower is now back in training and hopes to feature as new-look Leeds start to take shape under coach David Furner.
He told the Yorkshire Post: “Hopefully I’m not far off. Obviously it has been really frustrating. I completed the first part of pre-season, but I just had a little niggle in my ankle that has probably been there for a while.
“We made the decision to have the surgery done, so I had that done at the beginning of January. “It is frustrating that I’ve done the first big block of hard work and then it obviously puts you back having the surgery. “It has been a pretty slow recovery, really. I wanted to be further ahead than I am but, hopefully, I can speed it up now. In the next couple of weeks I’ll start to up it and then, hopefully, be back playing.”
