Roache’s recovery slow after back op

Hooker bedridden over past three months

Young Warriors hooker Nathaniel Roache is on the slow path to recovery following surgery on a season-ending back injury. The 22-year-old is used to darting out of dummyhalf and catching the opposition defence napping but has only recently got back on his feet after being bedridden over the past three months.

The Warriors 2016 Rookie of the Year made nine appearances last year behind starting hooker Issac Luke, but suffered his latest setback in February, after returning from surgery on a ruptured Achilles that ended his 2017 campaign last August.

It has been a lonely time for the talented No 9, with a walk to the letterbox the highlight of his day, but he hopes to begin jogging later this month and has his sights set on being fully fit for the start of pre-season training in November.

“I’m about three months postsurgery now and still only just going into the club to walk really,” Roache told Radio Sport. “In the next couple of weeks I should be able to have a trot maybe.”

Roache’s surgery was complicated and he still experiences some pain which he hopes will subside as his strength returns.

“[The doctors] pretty much did everything they wanted to and fixed most of the problem,” he said.

“My understanding is it was a bulged disc, my L5 disc was bulging and hitting my sciatic nerve.

“It was causing a lot of problems down that side so they’ve scraped off some of that disc and put it back in, so it’s going to take a while to come right.

“There’s still a bit of pain in there but I think that will go hopefully in the next few months. Now it’s just about being patient and doing all the little stuff.”

Sidelined second-rower Leivaha Pulu hopes to be back on the field in five weeks as he continues his recovery from a foot injury that has kept him out of action since midApril.

The 28-year-old made six appearances earlier this season and the Warriors have missed his dynamic running and hard tackling on the left-edge since he went down in the side’s first defeat of the season against Brisbane in April.

“I got a Lisfranc injury, a bit of a sprain in the muscle and a broken bone in my foot,” Pulu explained.

“I just came out of the cast two weeks ago and am slowly recovering.

I’m about three months post-surgery now and still only just going into the club to walk really.

Nathaniel Roache

“It happened against the Broncos, my tackle technique wasn’t right and I just let the fella come through and someone landed on my leg. My toes just went the other way and I just heard a massive click.

“I was just lucky that I only got 10 to 12 weeks off, hopefully.”

The Warriors go into this week’s bye in fifth spot on the NRL ladder, with an eight and four record after 12 rounds.

The Warriors yesterday confirmed star halfback Shaun Johnson will return from injury layoff for their next clash against Manly in Christchurch on June 9.

The 27-year-old has missed the Warriors’ last three matches after suffering an ankle injury late in their round nine win over Wests Tigers.