Ashton Golding is keeping himself as fit as possible during the lockdown by going on mammoth bike rides.
The Huddersfield Giants fullback, who suffered a hamstring injury in pre-season that was expected to keep him out for several months, went on an 80km bike ride on Thursday, cycling from Leeds to Skipton and back again, only to get a flat tyre near the finishing line!
“I need to come back in decent shape,” he told League Express.
“It’s more than I need to do and the physio probably wouldn’t approve!
“But I’m alright, to be fair, and I’m feeling really good. In a way, this lockdown is a blessing for me as it means I’ll be in contention for most of the season when it resumes.”
Golding is closing in on full fitness after suffering his injury on the eve of the season in a pre-season game with Wakefield.
“I was told twelve to 16 weeks was my recovery period, but I was telling myself it would be ten.
“I was flying; the physios give you a length of time but you have your own times that don’t push the boundaries too much.”
The injury was a setback for Golding, who was raring for another crack at Super League after having not made a single appearance in the competition for Leeds during 2019, instead spending time on dual-registration with Championship side Featherstone.
“Looking at it like that you’d be down and disappointed,” he said.
“But I was straight back on the horse, doing everything I can to come back faster. The physio worked hard with me on that.
“We all have a choice, to mope around or get on with it. I’ve got a son and he really focuses me. I can switch my home life and rugby life, whereas before it was just rugby and that was a problem. I’ve a bit of clarity between the two and see what is important in life. I never wake up too disheartened or upset because I wake up to him and it’s a joy every morning.”
When Golding returns, he will enter a Huddersfield side that has been the surprise package so far this season, winning five of their first six Super League games, including a victory at St Helens, inflicting a first home league defeat on the Super League champions since August 2018.
Few still give the Giants hope of continuing their form, but Golding countered by saying: “I’d probably flip it back to the Rhinos in 2017, when everyone said we couldn’t do it, then at Featherstone last year, when nobody gave us a chance of making the final. It’s the same with Huddersfield this year.
“At the Rhinos we proved them wrong and at Featherstone we did it too, so why not Huddersfield as well? Why can’t we? There’s faith among the group.”
