The Gold Coast Titans have provided an official injury update on the status of skipper Tino Fa'asuamaleaui as he looks to return before the beginning of the 2025 NRL season.
On the comeback trail from an ACL injury, Fa'asuamaleaui is set to ramp up his training over the next fortnight and is expected to be available for the club's opening match of the season in Round 2 against the Canterbury Bulldogs.
Surprisingly, his predicted first match will be against the same team and venue where he suffered the season-ending injury: the Bulldogs and Belmore Sports Ground.
"Tino Fa'asuamaleaui is set to rejoin the main squad in the next fortnight as he begins the final stages of returning from his ACL injury," a club statement read.
"Upon completing a two-week training camp with world-renowned sports reconditioning and athletic coach Bill Knowles, the Titans skipper has been progressing through a modified training program as part of his rehab plan, with full integration expected in mid-January.
"His return will provide a great boost for Gold Coast as preparations for 2025 ramp up, given Fa'asuamaleaui's absence for a majority of the 2024 season following his season-ending knee injury in Round 3."
While Fa'asuamaleaui isn't expected to return until Round 2, the Titans will begin the season with a pre-season match against the Brisbane Broncos on February 16.
This will be the first time recruit Reagan Campbell-Gillard will be on show in the Titans jersey since arriving at the club from the Parramatta Eels.
โHe's loving it and fitting in really well with all the boys,โ Fa'asuamaleaui's teammate Sam Verrills told 4BC last week about the arrival of Campbell-Gillard.
โHe brings in a lot of experience to our forward pack alongside the likes of Tino, Moe and Jimmy Jolliffe and he'll take a lot of pressure off them. He's only going to add to our game and he's another big mobile forward.
โIt's pretty enjoyable being a hooker and getting to play with this pack. Hopefully, we can all stay injury free and have a good year.
โWe've all been going pretty hard this pre-season and us like all the other teams in the NRL are pretty keen to be playing footy at the moment too, so we're looking forward to it.โ
