Ryan Papenhuyzen will reportedly return to rugby league next weekend.
After posting a training montage to his social media next week accompanied by the caption "home stretch", where it clearly looked like he was close to full fitness, it is now being reported by both ABC Sports and The Sydney Morning Herald that the star fullback will return to action next week through the QLD Cup.
While Zane Bojack of the ABC has suggested his return is locked in for the Sunshine Coast Falcons' clash next Saturday against the Ipswich Jets, the Herald suggest it's still not set in stone.
Breaking: Hearing @ryanpapenhuyzen will make his injury return for @SC_Falcons in @HostplusCup against @JetsRLFC at @SC_Stadium 5pm Saturday.
Will be one of the biggest Qld Cup crowds of the year! #PoorJets
Likely to play 1-2 weeks in QC before being named on bench for @storm
— Zane Bojack (@zanofc) July 30, 2023
Regardless, it's understood Papenhuyzen, when he does make it back onto the park, will play at least one, or maybe two games in the Cup for the Falcons before pushing back into the NRL side just in time for the finals.
What his role within the NRL side will be though is still up for debate.
It's going to take time for Papenhuyzen to regain his match fitness given how long he has been sidelined for. His last game, when he shattered his kneecap, came all the way back in mid-July last year against the Canberra Raiders.
Whether he is up to playing 80 minutes at fullback in first-grade is well and truly up for debate, but even if he was, coach Craig Bellamy may find it hard to displace Nick Meaney back to the wing and shuffle either boom young gun Will Warbrick or Queensland State of Origin representative Xavier Coates out of the side.
That could ultimately mean Papenhuyzen plays a role off the bench as a backline X-Factor for the remainder of 2023 before pushing for his number one jersey next season.
The Storm may well be targetting the game on the road against the St George Illawarra Dragons in Round 25 for his return, with that being what could be considered their simplest of the five games remaining. Prior to that, the Storm play the Penrith Panthers and Canberra Raiders, and afterwards they face the Gold Coast Titans and Brisbane Broncos to close out the season.
