Even during his rehabilitation, Matty Ashton is living the dream every single day.
The Warrington Wolves fullback is well down the road to recovery after undergoing surgery on his hamstring several months ago, an injury that was set to keep him out for up to four months.
It brought an abrupt halt to an impressive rise for the former Swinton star, who went from playing as an amateur to one of the biggest clubs in the game in just over a year.
However, the Coronavirus-enforced suspension has meant he has missed just two games as a result of the injury, and, once it resumes, he could well be in contention.
“I’ve got to be grateful really,” he said.
“It’s coming on really well now. It’s six weeks since the operation. I was off the crutches after four and since then I’ve been doing a lot of walking and a lot of stuff at home. I’m doing 5km walks every day now and it feels really good.”
His performances earned rave reviews after he was a surprise starter in primrose and blue for their Super League opener with Wigan, and even once he was on the treatment table, further accolades came through his inclusion in the England Knights squad.
“I actually found out I was in after seeing something online,” he said.
“I’d been sent an email but I hadn’t seen it. I went in for the operation and I was in the physio’s room when I saw an article and saw my name on it.
“I was shocked. I’ve only played three games for Warrington, so to be picked off the back of that was a big surprise and it felt quite surreal.”
Surreal best sums up how Ashton feels about the last 12 months, which has seen him go from a complete unknown to an internationally recognised player.
“That first week of training with Warrington,” he added.
“Just seeing them all, when I’ve watched them play for so many years on the TV and now I was there with them; it was just bizarre. Gaz (Widdop) especially, he’s been in the NRL for so long and just chatting to him as a friend and a team-mate is so odd. It’s so easy to play with him and Blake (Austin). I stay close to them in training and ask them what they want of me; they’re experienced players who know what they want.”
Meanwhile, Ashton revealed the Wolves squad has banned talk of a Grand Final.
“We know what the end goal is, everyone does, so we’ve made a pact not to talk about it. There’s no need to talk about it because we know what the goal is; we all know in our own heads.”
