Wests Tigers star Adam Doueihi has revealed that he is targeting a return ahead of schedule from a devastating ACL injury.
The half and centre, who played both positions last season, injured his ACL in the Round 23 clash against the Cronulla Sharks and would take no further part in the season.
The ACL injury brings with it a return time of an estimated nine months, although some can make it back as soon as Round 6. It gave Doueihi a return date estimate of late May - or almost halfway through the 2022 season.
Doueihi is no stranger to the injury, having previously lost the back end of the 2018 season and half of the 2019 season with the injury.
ACL injuries have been known to cause players to perform well below their best on return, and while there is some doubt as to Doueihi after a second ACL injury, he will still be a crucial part of the Tigers side.
On Sunday morning, he told SEN Radio that he is on track with his recovery and could be back sooner than expected.
“Everything is going as planned at the moment,” Doueihi said on SEN 1170.
“Everything is on track, I met with the surgeon last week just for a check-up and he was really happy with where things were at.
“At about the eight, nine month mark I’ll go back and see him for sort of a strength test. He’ll have a list of boxes I need to tick, and as long as I tick all of them I’ll be good to go.
“I’m not exactly sure how many months or days yet, but (my return) should be somewhere in the middle of the front end of the season, I hope.”
It's understood he will slot straight back into the halves alongside Luke Brooks in Michael Maguire's side once he is recovered from injury, with Jackson Hastings the likely fill in until he returns, although young gun Jock Madden could also be near the first-grade side.
