Curtis Sironen is confident that his Covid Christmas nightmare won’t set back his chances of breaking into the St Helens team for the start of the season.
The giant back-row forward signed from Manly Sea Eagles in the off-season is looking to force his way into a side that has won the past three Super League titles.
But Sironen was forced to miss more than a week of training, and subsequently their only pre-season friendly against Leigh Centurions for Alex Walmsley’s testimonial.
That was because a short trip to Rome for Christmas turned into more than two weeks stuck in isolation in a hotel on foreign soil.
“My partner and I went to Italy, only for three nights,” said Sironen.
“At the airport on the way home on Boxing Day morning I did a (Covid) test and tested positive.
“It was like a bad dream. I was in there ten days, separated from my partner, then I was still positive and it ended up being even longer.
“It was very frustrating, it disrupted my holiday as well as my return to training.
“Once I got to grips with it and got my head around it, I was trying to do as much training as I could in that little room, just making sure I didn’t fall off too much from those gains I made pre-Christmas.”
Happily, a social media call-out from his family helped find somebody in Rome who could provide Sironen with the food and equipment needed to keep in shape.
“Somehow they found a friend of a friend,” he said. “This woman was an absolute angel.
“She got in contact with me and then she was bringing me groceries, she dropped me off some dumbbells and bands and exercise stuff. It was like Christmas Day again.
“I probably eat a little bit more than the average person sitting in quarantine so I was really lucky to have her; she kept me sane.”
It also means Sironen still has every chance of making his debut in Saints’ season opener with Catalans Dragons.
“I had a goal in mind to have a good pre-season, coming to a new club, trying to earn the respect of all my team-mates, and things like that,” he said.
“It’s a little hiccup but it’s a long year. It’s a bit different to back at home, the season comes pretty quick and there’s lots of games, so I’ll get a chance to show everyone what I’m about.”
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