New NZ Warriors captain Tohu Harris is hopeful of a return to action in May of the 2022 NRL season, as he builds his way back from a knee injury - as his teammates produce "career best numbers" in their pre-season training.
Harris, 30, has been out of action since July, when he limped off Suncorp Stadium in the Warriors' 30-16 loss to Penrith Panthers.
Scans later confirmed that Harris had suffered an ACL injury, as the veteran forward played no further part in the 2021 season that saw the Warriors finish 12th on the NRL ladder.
With the team now back into pre-season training after Christmas, Harris is having to watch from the sidelines as his teammates prepare for the upcoming campaign as he returns to full fitness.
And now with the added responsibility of team captaincy following Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's return to rugby union, Harris is making sure he's not putting a foot wrong in his recovery.
"It's tracking along really well," Harris says.
"It's a bit of a slow and drawn out process, but it's one that I have to take time to get right, in building strength back up.
"Running on the field, I've started changing direction [while] running. It's feeling really good to actually be out on the field, [and] be able to move about a bit.
"That's been pretty pleasing, but I've still got a long way to go in making sure I'm ticking every box."
Harris also confirms that, at present, the initial nine month timeline for his recover is still on track, and hopes to be back on the field for the middle of May.
"[I'm] still working around that nine month mark, just as a guideline which is mid-May," Harris adds.
"This next block that I'm about to go into is a really important one, which is a lot of change direction and bio stuff.
"How that goes will determine whether that return date will be moved or not.
"I'm just hoping to get through this next month or so, build some real speed and strength in the knee so that things can progress smoothly."
Elsewhere, Harris adds that the rest of the Warriors playing group is leaving no stone unturned in pre-season, as the Kiwi club bids to return to the NRL finals for the first time since 2018.
And according to Harris, multiple Warriors players are putting in record displays in terms of gym work and fitness, but tempers expectations that it will instantly result in a turnaround of the club's on-field woes, with the club winning just eight games in 2021.
"The team is flying around the field at the moment," he says.
"Everyone's physically looking certainly a lot better than what we have the last couple of years. That's been pretty pleasing.
"Everyone's putting in career best numbers, whether it's conditioning or weights. That's been very pleasing and we're getting a lot of confidence about that.
"It's not going to decide results for us, but it's certainly going to help. Everyone is really putting in some hard work, and it's showing in our training results."
