Another stunning return from injury by Brisbane hooker Andrew McCullough has not impressed Broncos great Justin Hodges, it seems.
The former Brisbane captain fears McCullough may be coming back too soon from a hyperextended elbow and hopes common sense prevails with Broncos medical staff.
McCullough was supposed to miss four to six weeks when he injured his elbow in their loss to Melbourne on April 20.
But the tough rake has been named to make his return in Thursday night's NRL clash with Canterbury at Suncorp Stadium after missing just one game - Thursday's win over South Sydney.
It will be the third straight injury from which McCullough has returned ahead of schedule.
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Instead of marvelling at McCullough's recuperative powers, however, Hodges fears McCullough may be rushing his return.
"I spoke to him last Friday and he was pretty adamant he was going to play - if it is up to him he said he was going to play," Hodges told Fox Sports' Queenslanders Only.
"Hopefully the doctors step in there because we don't want to see him get injured any more.
"He is a big part of the Broncos. If he doesn't play there is a big gap in that side."
The 28-year-old McCullough underwent a knee reconstruction after an ACL injury late last year but returned to play off the bench in the Broncos' season-opener seven months after surgery.
In 2016, he suffered a hamstring injury that was supposed to keep him out for six weeks but only missed two games.
"Some of the boys think he's pretending, because he keeps coming back so early," Brisbane captain Darius Boyd said of McCullough.
"He's just the ultimate professional."
