Harry Newman has revealed he will not rush his long-awaited Leeds Rhinos return, meaning he will miss the start of the new Super League season as he opened up on the struggles of the toughest year of his career so far.
Newman was forced to watch from the sidelines not only in October, when Leeds made it all the way to the Grand Final, but during a World Cup on home soil too, with Newman revealing he was confident he would have made England's squad for the tournament following conversations with Shaun Wane. Several hamstring injuries ultimately ended his season, though Newman admitted his desire to rush his return in time for Leeds' play-off showdown at Catalans resulted in him suffering a setback, and missing the Old Trafford decider against St Helens.
Having learned from those mistakes, and slowly worked his way back to full fitness this off-season, Newman conceded the 2023 opener against Warrington in a month's time will come too soon. But he is keen to look long-term, not short-term and potentially suffer yet more setbacks in his burgeoning career.
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"Probably not," he said when asked if he would be fit for the start. "Whether round one, two or three.. or maybe a bit later. When the time’s right and everyone agrees. We’ve not set a date on it and we won’t rush anything. I’ve probably been guilty of rushing a couple of things in the past and the main thing for me is when I'm back out there, I’m staying out there.
"It's just about taking the time and making sure everything is healed, not just concentrating on the hamstring. We’ve got new physios and members of staff who have come in and been great with me. They’ve worked really hard, along with myself, just to get back to where I need to be."
The 22-year-old has suffered two serious hamstring injuries and a leg break already in his career, and he conceded the end of last season was mentally tough to deal with as he watched his team-mates reach the Grand Final, before being told he wouldn't be fit for the World Cup after pushing his recovery from a hamstring problem picked up in September.
"I had a strain in the top of my hamstring in September and probably wanted to be back for that play-off away in Catalans," he said. "If I’d waited a couple of weeks I’d probably have been back for the Grand Final but that wasn’t to be and it was gutting to miss that game as everyone wants to play in them. I’ve worked my socks off during the off-season and continue to do so when I'm ready I will be ready to go.
"It was tough. We travelled over to Manchester the night before and I roomed with (Aidan) Sezer who was obviously missing the game as well. He’s played in one back home but for both of us it was gutting both for different reasons.
"There’s a picture of me after the game in tears and that’s the nature of it. That’s part of professional sport, Sometimes you're on the end of great highs and sometimes you’re not. But i've worked my socks off to get where I am now and will look to potentially get back there this year."
Newman has worked with Dave O'Sullivan, who has returned to the Rhinos in a medical role having previously been part of the backroom staff in their treble-winning season of 2015, in a bid to rid himself of injury problems once and for all. And the centre insisted he is confident he can now lay a turbulent few seasons to rest and fulfil the potential many still believe he possesses.
"Dave has come in as director of physio and been great with me and a few of the boys. He’s really big on 'prehab', preparing to run, not just the team warm-up. We have our own individual warm-ups as well that make sure I feel good when I go out to train.
"It seems to be working at the minute, and the body feels good. But I'm not going to push myself too hard, I'll be right when I'm ready. Dave has looked at every aspect of my body, not just the hamstrings, and how they could potentially impact my hamstrings. So if something else is weak, something else has to do the work."
But Newman stressed his new-look medical regime will not alter the high-velocity way he approaches the game on the field when he eventually does return.
"I had full confidence in the hamstring last time, but I won’t worry about that because I know if I put the work in then touch wood, I will stay out there next season and stay injury-free and help us get back to where we should be.
"But there'll be no holding back. Even when I came back from my leg break, it was just not in my nature to hold back. I go as hard as I can and always will."
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