Luckless Gold Coast halfback Ash Taylor is hopeful of returning to full fitness in the coming weeks as the NRL season nears a start.
Taylor is in the last year of a deal that is worth up to $1 million per season and is seeking a new deal for 2022.
Any deal Taylor does sign would be worth significantly less then the deal he is currently playing out, following ongoing battles with injury.
Taylor had a very solid 2020 in a bid to keep his career alive, with both the weight of his current contract and personal issues in 2019 have stalled the progress of the once highly touted halfback.
TRY Titans! #NRLTitansDragons 4-8 11' Ash Taylor sets up this beauty and the Titans are on the board.
Watch LIVE: https://t.co/16CG8jCNjb
Follow LIVE: https://t.co/jC4ngijfth pic.twitter.com/pP7sbgmy1i— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) March 25, 2018
The 25-year-old underwent surgeries on both his hip and wrist in the off-season after playing through last season under duress.
The Daily Telegraph have reported that Coach Justin Holbrook believes Taylor's focus should be on playing good footy and not on the potential of a new deal.
โHe just needs to keep playing well, thatโs about all, there is nothing Iโm unhappy with,โ he said.
โHe finished the year great. I thought he played okay all year. We werenโt playing good as a team early in the year but he really found his part in the side as the year went on and did a great job.
Holbrook said the rehab of Taylor is going well and his loads will escalate as pre-season will roll on.
โHeโs doing really well with his rehab. Heโs running freely now.
โHeโs had a disrupted pre-season with having both of his hips and wrist done. He did well to finish the season the way he did considering he was in a fair bit of pain in those areas.
โItโs good to get him back on the field for a fair bit of the skills stuff now and he will integrate more.โ
