Injured South Sydney Rabbitohs star Jai Arrow has declared he will be fit to play in Round 8 against the Melbourne Storm after spending a large chunk of time on the sidelines.
Arrow hasn't played since Round 1 after suffering a rotator cuff injury against the Manly Sea Eagles overseas in Las Vegas and has been missed by Jason Demetriou.
It is understood that his quick recovery comes after he went against undergoing season-ending surgery and has decided to delay it until the end of the season.
Confirming that he will be a starter against the Melbourne Storm, Arrow was seen at the club's training last week and will slot straight into the starting back-row.
โI did something to my rotator-cuff tendon; it's a weird one and hard to explain, and I'm the last person who knows how to explain it,โ Arrow said, perย The Herald.
โBut I'd been doing my rehab and this week they wanted to test me out.
โDon't get me wrong, it was always in the back of my mind whether it was going to hold up.
โI got told pretty early if the shoulder was no good, I'd need surgery, and I'd be out for the year.
"I was prepared for that on Wednesday. But there were no scary moments. It will now come down to pain management.
โI won't play with needles. It's my call. There's no pressure from the club, but if I need a needle, I'll only be a liability out there. I don't want to go out half-arsed and be that liability for the boys.
โI got through it, so it looks like I'll definitely play next week. I'm excited to be back playing some footy.โ
While the return of Arrow will provide a big boost to the Rabbitohs, the club will still be without winger Tyrone Munro and prop Tevita Tatola.
The club confirmed that Tatola will miss approximately three months while Munro re-injured his collarbone. There is no return date set for the winger at this time.
"Unfortunately, Junior Tatola sustained a foot injury very early in the game against Cronulla and he had to leave the field,"ย Croll said in a video on the South Sydney website.
"On assessment, it looked like a significant footy injury and he had scans the following day. The diagnosis is a fifth metatarsal fracture of the foot and straight away had a surgical opinion and has gone in for surgery to repair that foot fracture.
"That is going to be quite a lengthy timeline on return.
"He is going to be six weeks non weight-bearing, and it's typically around a 12-week return to play timeline.
"Tyrone Munroย has re-injured that collarbone in the contact against Cronulla.
"He has gone in for scans to confirm that fracture and he is just having a review with the surgeon but he will likely be having surgery."
