Melbourne Storm star Ryan Papenhuyzen is poised to return to rugby league after a year on the sidelines following his horrific knee injury.
The flying fullback will take to the field for feeder club the Sunshine Coast Falcons on Saturday after almost 13 months out with a shattered knee cap.
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Papenhuyzen shattered his right kneecap in 10 places in round 18 against the Canberra Raiders last season, with his return to rugby league taking 384 days.
The 25-year-old suffered numerous setbacks during his recovery and travelled to the US earlier this year for specialist treatment with world-renowned reconditioning expert Bill Knowles.
Papenhuyzen has been increasing his training workload in recent weeks as he pushes for a return to the Storm team ahead of the NRL finals.
Ahead of Melbourne’s Friday night blockbuster with the Panthers, Storm coach Craig Bellamy revealed the plan for the star fullback was to take it slow and steady and gradually increase his playing minutes.
“I just want to see him get through the 55 minutes or 50 minutes, whatever he plays, strongly without any more problems with his knee,” Bellamy told the media.
“That’s all we’re after. It’s a plan for this week and then we’ll see what happens from there, we’re not going to rush anything.
“He’s certainly down (to play) for this week, he probably won’t play 80 minutes.
“If he gets through the game, we’ll reassess where he’s at medically and where he’s at footy wise and physically as well.
“We will plan for next week after that.”
Bellamy said the Storm would love to have their exciting fullback make a return for the finals; however, the club was prepared to continue to play without him.