Johns cleared to train

[Danny]

He's back, great to see everything is going well for the big man.


Johns cleared to train
By Dean Ritchie
November 3, 2004

ANDREW JOHNS will make another comeback on Monday after being declared ready to resume training with Newcastle.

The Knights return to full training boosted enormously by news that Johns will be at the opening session.

"Joey might be doing some altered stuff but he'll be there - he will be participating," said coach Michael Hagan. "Joey is probably 80 or 90 per cent and we expect him to be doing most things in three to four weeks.

"He is progressing pretty well."

Johns has not played since round three last year when he injured a knee and required a full knee reconstruction.

He has not finished the past three seasons through injury.

In September 2002, he suffered three broken bones in his lower back in a qualifying final against St George Illawarra and was ruled out for the season.

The following August Johns was ruled out after specialists diagnosed a protruding disc that was placing pressure on his spinal cord. He missed the final four rounds of the regular season and the Knights' qualifying final loss to the Roosters.

In March, Johns heartbreakingly tore the cruciate ligament in his right knee.

In his time out injured this year, Johns rejected a massive offer to switch to rugby union.

Hagan said Kangaroo hooker Danny Buderus would not return to training until January 10.

Buderus will be given an extended break after the Tri-Nations tournament and come back to training when the Knights do after Christmas.

* PENRITH yesterday announced Glenn Matthews as the club's new chief executive.

Michael Leary, who has been acting chief executive since Shane Richardson left for Souths, is the new general manager of rugby league operations.

The Panthers return to training on November 22.

* ENGLISH Super League club London Broncos yesterday signed former Eel Lee Hopkins.

"He [Hopkins] will be very good for us, and I know he is very excited about making a contribution to our club," London coach Tony Rea said yesterday.

Hopkins said: "I have always wanted to play in England and I really can't wait to get cracking."

The Daily Telegraph

[injuryupdate]

Well as well as they could be for an ageing superstar recovering from an ACL injury. Johns has said if the knee goes again he pulls the pin:

This is my last chance: Johns
By Barry Toohey
November 7, 2004 (Sunday Telegraph)

IT has been eight agonisingly long months for the world's best player, Andrew Johns, since he was reduced to a frustrated spectator by a season-ending knee injury.

On the eve of the official start to off-season training for the Newcastle captain, Johns talks about his comeback expectations and drops a bombshell about retirement should serious injury strike again.

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Training officially kicks off with the Knights tomorrow. How is the knee?

ANDREW JOHNS: The knee feels great. I've been to the doctor and he has given me a good report. The most important thing is that the graft they did to repair the ligament is rock solid. Two months ago, I was still struggling to straighten my leg but that is improving all the time.

ST: So will you be at 100 per cent tomorrow morning at training?

AJ: No, I'm not there yet but I'm not far away and will be doing as much as I can. I'll just be off the pace a little bit.

ST: You have had some setbacks since you first suffered the injury, haven't you?

AJ: There have been a few. After the initial surgery, I picked up an infection and then a blood clot, so I was in and out of hospital during the first few weeks. Then I had to have it manipulated to loosen it up a bit and there was a concern about a month ago that I might have had a cyst in the joint. There has been some drama on and off but it's okay now.

ST: You have owned up in the past to being a terrible spectator. You must have done it tough during last season?

AJ: Yeah, it was awful, really tough. Particularly during the Origin series and coming up to the play-offs. The frustrating part was that before I did the injury, I really felt like I was in for a big year.

ST: Does your passion for playing still burn as brightly as it ever did?

AJ: No question. Nothing has changed there. I can't wait to get stuck into serious training, so that is a good sign.

ST: There will be some who will question your ability to get back to your best again. There must be some self doubts there as well after the horror run with serious injuries you have had over the past three seasons?

AJ: I'd be lying if I said there wasn't. Psychologically, it has left some scars and I know I am going to be terrified leading into my first game back next year, not really knowing if I am going to get through it. The memory of doing my knee, just the noise it made and the pain, I'm still trying to erase it now.

ST: Mentally, could you handle another serious injury?

AJ: If I do another major one, that's it.

ST: You would retire?

AJ: I'd pull the pin, yeah. I wouldn't bother wasting my time or the Knights' time if it happened all over again.

ST: That's a big call. You feel that strongly about it?

AJ: I just wouldn't go through all of this again.

ST: You've signed for two more years with the Knights. Do you still have personal career goals?

AJ: Of course. I'll be writing them up on the board here at home, like I always do.

ST: Are you prepared to say what they might be?

AJ: They are personal things. The biggest challenge for me now over the next four or five months is getting myself back to where I was last March. That is the immediate goal.

ST: One advantage for you is that you love training.

AJ: Leading into last season, I was that fit. Mentally, I was that focused on what I wanted to do. I wasn't having a beer and was watching what I ate. That's the sort of preparation I want to have again.

ST: So you'll be off the grog?

AJ: Pretty much, yeah. We'll be training six days a week up until Christmas, so I'll be virtually cutting it out altogether. I'll be turning up to every session, training my backside off and hopefully setting a good example for the young blokes. I just want to give myself every chance.

ST: What about representative footy? Are you keen to play at that level again?

AJ: I'd love to play again and playing under Ricky Stuart in Origin is something that really appeals to me. But I'm not going to play if I'm off the pace. I don't want the selectors picking me unless I'm playing out of my skin and deserve it when the time comes.

ST: Just on that, are you feeling any pressure to have to live up to the "best player in the game" tag when you return?

AJ: That sort of stuff never enters my mind. I have my own expectations about what I want to be able to do and I guess I have some doubts about whether the injury will affect my speed and if I will be able to get through gaps like I could in the past. That has been on my mind a bit.

ST: What about the Knights then. The team missed the play-offs last season and you have lost some quality in players like Ben Kennedy and Timana Tahu. You are already being written off as a contender in 2005.

AJ: It's a bit like that, isn't it? The key is going to be keeping the nucleus of our side on the field. We still have plenty of outstanding players and if we do that, we will be fine. Hopefully, we can unearth a few young guys and there are players there who know they have to lift their game. They are making noises like they are prepared to do that.

ST: You are very close to Danny Buderus. What a year he had, despite the team's performance.

AJ: Unbelievable. Even more so given just how wounded he has been at times during the season, which most people weren't aware of. He has just been inspirational at all levels of the game. It's going to be great to play with him again.

ST: What about the new players at the club. Are there any you are really excited about?

AJ: That is probably a wait-and-see thing with most of them but Kirk Reynoldson will be great for the place. I am looking forward to playing alongside him because he is a hard worker and what you see is what you get. I can see him being a good influence at the club.

ST: What are your early thoughts on next season's premiership?

AJ: I can see it being one of the closest ever. The Roosters are going to miss Freddy (Brad Fittler) and Steve Price is a big loss for the Bulldogs. That will bring both of them back to the field a bit. Then you look at how well the likes of Parramatta, Manly and the Warriors have recruited and the emergence of the Cowboys. It's going to be incredibly tight.

ST: Finally Joey, you'll be slogging it out at off-season training tomorrow at the same time as the Wallabies are enjoying their European tour. Any lingering regrets about THAT decision?

AJ: I obviously think about it from time to time and a part of me will probably always wonder about what might have been had I gone that way. But I made the call in the end to stay with the Knights for all the right reasons and I am happy with it.