With four rounds of the NRL season now done and dusted, Knights TV caught up with the Club's Director of Performance Jeremy Hickmans to discuss all the latest injury news.
Jarrod Mullen:
Hickmans says the Knights star five-eighth is edging closer to a return.
Now seven weeks into his rehab on his injured hamstring, Mullen has got the all-clear from the surgeon to resume full-training and is hopeful of making a comeback in the coming weeks.
"Jarrod is going very well and the hamstring is looking good," Hickmans says.
"He is talking himself up at the moment and he is wanting to get back earlier and earlier.
"But he is still a few weeks away.
"The difference is getting that performance fitness and getting him out on the field and ready to work at those high speeds and repeat efforts, rather than just being fit.
"We did some testing with him on Monday to have a look at his balance and he is still about five to ten per cent off, which is that real top end speed and strength.
"But we are pretty close and we've always said around round 8.
"You’d like to think that maybe we could push it out a little bit closer, but we’re still looking at a couple of weeks."
Clint Newton:
The veteran forward is now six weeks into rehab on his ruptured bicep and Hickmans says he is making steady progress.
"Clint needs that icing time now to heal the tendon," he explains.
"He saw the surgeon last week and he was happy with where it was going.
"He’ll start a little bit of light strength work this week and he started running at the start of this week.
"The range of motion he has got is good and his strength is good, so we are happy with where he is at the moment."
Timana Tahu:
Hickmans says Tahu is recovering well from off-season surgery on his right knee, but given the seriousness of the injury the Club doesn't want to rush the veteran flyer back.
"It was a pretty significant injury with Timana," he says.
"He is about five months in now, so really the minimum for an ACL is about that six-month mark.
"He’ll probably push it out a little bit further than that, just because of the damage he had in there.
"So we are probably looking at the end of May to be a good result for him.
"He is running well and he has started some contact and some light skills, so it’s just how he progresses from there.”
Meanwhile, Hickmans confirmed fullback Darius Boyd's hamstring has pulled up fine following his return match against Cronulla last Sunday.
*For all your latest injury news, keep up to date with newcastleknights.com.au
