KNIGHTS hooker Jayden Brailey is still "shattered" about the ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered in a freak training accident but has vowed to return to the field by midway through Newcastle's 2022 campaign.
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The 25-year-old underwent surgery last week to repair the Achilles he heard snap during an "innocuous" mishap at training a fortnight ago.
"It was just out of the blue," Brailey told the Newcastle Herald.
"It was just in the last five or 10 minutes of the training session and all I did was take off to go and chase a footy.
"There was nobody within 20 metres of me and the first step I took, my Achilles just snapped.
"I knew straight away. I could hear it and it just dropped me.
"For something so innocuous to put me out for so long, it's so frustrating. I'm shattered, but I just have to pick myself up because I know I'll still be playing plenty of footy this year."
Brailey said he knows from past experience, after a knee reconstruction wrote off his first season with the Knights, how important it is to keep thinking positively.
"You go through stages with it, mentally," he said.
"I've been extremely disappointed, angry, upset. I'm still so frustrated. I honestly can't believe it, but it is what it is.
"I'm doing my best to stay positive and setting goals for myself.
"If I have a good attitude, I'll heal better."
Still waiting for surgeons to remove his cast and stitches, Brailey said he was just "laying low at home" and thinking of ways to keep himself occupied, other than watching Netflix.
"When I came back from my knee surgery, I played pretty much every game," he said.
"I tried to take the positives out of that experience.
"I handled the rehab really well and I know from that I need to have my head switched on and stay positive."
He had no doubt that his understudy Chris Randall would be more than capable of handling the dummy-half duties.
"Randy has had plenty of experience, especially in 2020 when I was injured," Brailey said.
"He also got plenty of game time last year too, so I back him 100 per cent.
"He's fit enough, he's strong enough and he's smart enough, and I know he'll do a great job there."
