The Easter period is a notoriously tough prospect for Super League players but Adam Milner says it will be exactly what he needs.
Castleford Tigers head to Hull Kingston Rovers this Friday in the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup to begin a run of four matches in the space of just 13 days, with Super League ties against Wakefield Trinity, Leeds Rhinos and St Helens to follow.
But Milner can’t wait to be involved in all those games as he returns to full match fitness following a troublesome back problem which kept him out of the first six matches of the season.
“Looking at the schedule, I think the Easter period coming up is going to be perfect for me, because the games come thick and fast and games are what I need,” he said.
“I’ll certainly be looking to play in every one of those games.
“It’s been tough watching from the sidelines. I’ve not enjoyed it one bit, especially with how we started the season.
“For me to have good pre-season and then pick up that back injury in the York (pre-season) game, it’s been a killer for me.”
It proved especially frustrating as he endured multiple setbacks, with the big issue of a bulging disc only spotted at the second time of asking.
“There were innocuous things, like picking my daughter’s dummy up, where I was getting spasms, and different symptoms I’d originally not been getting,” said Milner.
“In the end I had five injections in the back and two scans. The first scan originally didn’t show anything severe, and then the second picked something up that the first hadn’t.
“It was frustrating for me because after the first scan not showing anything, I didn’t know what the matter was with me.”
He’s now back in the thick of action and enjoying being back on the field, although he’s hoping there’s no repeat on Friday of the 99-minute marathon between Hull KR and Castleford in the Challenge Cup last season.
Milner said: “Let’s not have a rerun of what happened last year – let’s put it to bed nice and early.
“It’s a tough old place to go, as we found out earlier in the season (losing in Super League).
“One-off games, every team goes up that extra gear to hopefully reach the semi-finals.
“If they were to pick any team (in the draw) they would probably have picked us, if I’m being honest, the way we’ve started our season.
“We have to go all guns blazing to get into the semi-finals, which would be massive for this club.”
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