Two weeks after fearing his NRL season was over, Brisbane hooker Andrew McCullough has set his sights on a stunning comeback after returning to Broncos training on Monday.
McCullough hoped to provide much needed depth for Brisbane during the crunch State of Origin period after emerging on the training paddock for the first time since breaking down a fortnight ago.
McCullough said he would reassess a return date next week after running with his leg heavily strapped on Monday away from the main group in encouraging signs for the Brisbane rake.
McCullough revealed he thought he had suffered a season-ending knee injury when his leg twisted awkwardly in a tackle in their round eight 30-8 win over South Sydney at Suncorp Stadium.
Scans eased those fears but McCullough was still ruled out for up to six weeks with a hamstring injury.
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No wonder even McCullough was surprised to be running at training on Monday barely a fortnight later.
"It was good to be back out there today," McCullough said.
"I originally did think I had done my ACL (knee) - it could have been a lot worse."
The Broncos rely heavily on McCullough during the representative period and will be sweating on his return.
"The hammy is just hard to diagnose and I don't want to push it with such a crucial period coming up," McCullough said.
"I don't want to be a passenger in the team then be in and out of the team for the next year.
"I have to be patient with it. I have to rehab it right."
