Wakefield winger Tom Johnstone admits he had doubts whether he would be the same player after his serious knee injury before marking his return to action with a hat-trick on Sunday – and says he is part of a squad that are aiming for the top four in 2018.
Johnstone’s first game since May saw him play the full 80 minutes and score three tries in Trinity’s comfortable 62-0 pre-season win over Halifax.
And immediately after the game, the winger told League Express he was nervous about whether he’d lost any of his supreme ability following seven months out.
He said: “It kept happening in my mind, I kept wondering what if I wasn’t what I used to be.
“But I had plenty of reassurances from family members, medical staff and the coaches telling me not to worry – they said they’d get me back and here we are now. I’ve been panicking I wouldn’t have the speed I used to have but it seems to have worked.
“I’ve never had an injury this serious and I can’t lie, it’s been tough. But things have been good, I started running after just three months and it felt like I was close to coming back – but it really dragged after that. It’s amazing to be back now though.”
And having watched Trinity come desperately close to the play-offs from the sidelines last year, Johnstone says there is a collective desire to go one better in 2018.
He said: “It’s going to be a massive year for us – and we’re looking to aim higher than last year. We’ve kept the squad together and recruited some better players on top of that and our aim is that top four. That’s where we want to be.”
Johnstone has been talked up as an international winger of the future since his emergence in Trinity’s first-team – with some talk he was on the radar of the England coaching staff last year before his injury.
And he admits he’s keen to make up for lost time. He said: “There was a bit of talk before I did my knee so when I got the injury, that was a bit gut-wrenching really, knowing that people were mentioning me. I just want to come back and do what I was doing before, if not more – after that, let’s see where it takes me.”
