It has been a nine-month nightmare for Huddersfield captain Leroy Cudjoe: but the end is now in sight for the talismanic Giants centre.
Cudjoe has been sidelined with a serious knee injury since the latter part of 2017, and has yet to feature once for Huddersfield this season.
However, he has been named in their 19-man squad to face Salford on Friday – and interim Giants coach Chris Thorman admits the influence of Cudjoe on his side cannot be understated.
“Everyone sees not only his physical stature but what he’s done in the sport and for this club; we get a real leader of men back and leader in actions,” he said.
“We’re as excited as anyone with Leroy coming back in and he could potentially start on Friday night. He’s trained really well. He is super-critical of himself and doesn’t want to be underdone but I keep telling him he’s ticked all the boxes in terms of the medical point of view, and the strength and conditioning.
“I’ve told him he is available for selection from every department in the club but, Leroy being Leroy, he is his own worst critic and he’s debating whether he’d be ready or not. All being well he’ll feature and with the momentum we’ve got at the moment now we can talk about Leroy as well as a real lift for everyone.”
Meanwhile, Thorman admits there is still no definitive update on when new boss Simon Woolford will arrive in the country – as he looks set to remain in charge once again this weekend in a game where victory would see Huddersfield climb into the top eight.
When asked if he knew when Woolford would arrive, he said: “Not as yet. I said I’d give him a call when training was done – he might have some information for me but right now I’m not sure.”