TOM JOHNSTONE is set to make his return for Wakefield Trinity in Saturday’s home Super League clash with Hull KR.
The England winger has been sidelined since mid-April due to Achilles trouble, his last appearance being a four-try display against Bradford Bulls.
He also missed the first month of the season after taking longer than planned to recover from an off-season hernia operation, meaning he has played just six times.
“I got a bit of a pain in my Achilles after the Bradford game, from doing too much sprinting around,” said Johnstone.
“We got it scanned and there was a little cleft. They said (it would heal in) two weeks so we went under that assumption, but it’s taken longer than anticipated – we’re five weeks going on six.”
Johnstone has only missed four matches in that time, however, with two Challenge Cup breaks either side of their most recent league fixtures – wins against Catalans Dragons and Toulouse Olympique.
“It’s been a bit annoying. I was aiming to play in that Catalans game,” he added.
“The semi-finals and final have fallen quite nicely for me and it’s given me a bit more recovery time.
“I had a bit of meltdown when I didn’t make it back for that Catalans game, but I sat down the physios and discussed how it’s still a long year. We’re still not halfway through.
“As long as we take our time to make sure this is right, I should be alright coming towards the back end.”