Injury-ravaged Harry Newman was left in tears missing the Grand Final and went on holiday to escape having to watch the World Cup.
But the rising Leeds star won’t make the mistake of rushing himself back from injury. Not again. Centre Newman has endured some horrendous luck in his blossoming career. He made just seven appearances last term due to a series of hamstring issues. The 22-year-old - who also suffered an horrific double leg break in 2020 - battled back to be fit for their play-off run but broke down once more.
It also meant he missed out on a potential England debut in the World Cup. Newman concedes he’s “probably not” going to be right for Leeds’ Super League kick-off at Warrington on February 16. But he insisted: “Whether it’s round one, two, three or maybe a bit later, it’ll be 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. I definitely won’t do that again. I’m still only 22 and you learn from your mistakes. Everyone wants to play in those games. It’s hard, especially at 22 years old, to hold yourself back.
“But unfortunately I didn’t and ended up missing a Grand Final and potentially playing in a World Cup which for me was gutting as I know I could have brought a lot to both those events. It’s been a tough couple of years with a leg break and two hamstring operations. But it feels really good now. I’m back up and running now and not far off which is great.”
With the help of Leeds’ medical team, Newman has changed the way he rehabs and prepares to help ensure he doesn’t have any more problems. He said: “The main thing for me is when I’m back out there I’m staying out there. I’ve got Dave O’Sullivan who was here at Rhinos before and worked with Leicester Tigers and England rugby union.
“He’s come in as director of physio and been great. He’s really big on prehab, preparing to run and not just the team warm-up. We have our own individual warm-ups as well and along with the S&C that makes sure I feel good when I go out to train. When you look at the exercises, anyone else would think ‘what are you doing?!’ But it seems to be working at the minute and the body feels good.”
One of Super League’s top talents, fans will be desperate to see Newman back in action. Leeds lost out to St Helens at Old Trafford and Newman recalled: “There’s a picture of me after the game in tears and that’s the nature of it. That’s part of professional sport. But I hate watching. After my op’ I went on holiday when the World Cup was on. You’d end up going crazy if not.
“But I've worked my socks off to get to this point and will look to potentially get back there (Old Trafford) this year. And I’ll put my hand up for England, too.”
