NZ Warriors captain Tohu Harris' return from injury surprised even himself, making his comeback in last Saturday's defeat to Penrith Panthers.
In round four of this year's NRL season, Harris limped from the field in the Warriors' 16-14 victory over Canterbury Bulldogs suffering a medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury.
The 31-year-old was forced to sit out of his side's next two matches - a win over Cronulla Sharks and a defeat to Newcastle Knights respectively - and returned in round seven to help his side to victory against North Queensland Cowboys.
However, the Warriors skipper left hearts in mouths in round eight when he re-aggravated the same knee injury against Melbourne Storm - leading to fears of a lengthy stay on the sideline.
But through stubbornness or determination, Harris missed only one game and returned to the field last Saturday, getting through all 80 minutes against the Panthers.
In that 80 minutes, Harris assisted the Warriors' only try - scored by Addin Fonua-Blake - and made 48 tackles while running for 155m with the ball in hand.
With no lingering effects of that injury, Harris will captain the Warriors again this week when they travel to face Canterbury Bulldogs on Friday night and said he has complete confidence in his body.
"It's great, I didn't have any incidents - which is pretty pleasing," said Harris.
"I've just got to keep at it, keep strengthening it and, hopefully, it can go longer without any more incidents."
Meanwhile, Harris said his quick return from an injury that can take up to four weeks to heal has even taken him by surprise.
In total, Harris could have missed up to eight weeks of the season to heal from both injuries. However, he has missed only three.
Now, the Warriors' skipper knows the onus is on him to make sure there's no third time unlucky.
"[Considering] how painful it was against Melbourne, to only miss one game, I'm pretty thankful," he said.
"It's feeling a lot more stable at the moment. I've just got to keep working at it and make sure the fewer incidents I get - in terms of pain and getting put in that position - the better it'll be."
