Salford winger Daniel Vidot is keen to put a frustrating start to his British career behind him after finally making his Red Devils debut.
The Samoan international took to the field in Salford colours for the first time during the club’s Challenge Cup defeat to Castleford on Saturday after missing the opening three months of the season following shoulder surgery, an injury he picked up in the opening weeks of his pre-season schedule with the club.
That left the winger out in the cold, with the vast majority of his rehabilitation completed on his own while the likes of Justin Carney, Junior Sa’u and Josh Griffin thrived under a style of play designed to get the best out of Salford’s physicality out wide.
However, with the Samoan international now back on the scene, Vidot is determined to ensure he makes up for lost time after a painful few months.
“It’s been a tough start to life for me in England,” he said.
“But I’m just happy to be back out there and training with the boys.
“I only really had a couple of weeks off and I was straight back into training, so I’ve been training really hard for this moment. It hasn’t been that easy for me to be honest, but short term pain is long term gain and I can’t wait to get back out on the park.
“Most of the training sessions have been by myself doing rehab, but I’ve been training with the boys for the past couple of weeks and I’ve really enjoyed it, so things are looking good now. I feel fine. In the few sessions I’ve had out there everything seems to be gelling nicely.”
Throughout his injury process, Vidot has kept in touch with the sports entertainment company WWE, given his desire to one day pursue a career in professional wrestling.
He was actually offered a contract by the American company last year but decided to remain loyal to Rugby League and honour his commitment to Salford. And, while he still has his sights on a future in the ring at some point, he is focused on Rugby League for now.
“They know about the injury and everything, but that stuff will come when it comes. My first job is to focus on my rugby career and if that comes across later on in my future I will tackle it then.”
