Wood: Nothing can stop me now

After coming back from a serious shoulder injury in April, Salford utility Josh Wood believes he has learnt some invaluable lessons.

The 21-year old picked up the injury during a sickening collision with former Catalans player Dave Taylor, now of the Canberra Raiders.

“I know I can get through anything,” Wood said.

“After going through such a big op at such a big age I know I can bounce back up and I’ve never felt better in myself this pre-season.”

The injury forced him out of action for the remainder of last season which was devastating, explained Wood.

“It was a huge knock-back,” he said.

“I thought I was doing alright and the coaches were saying I was doing alright then to need the operation was really gutting.”

Wood admitted it was a long process after the initial shoulder reconstruction

“I needed to have a piece of the bone chipped off so I needed two screws in my shoulder,” he told loverugbyleague.

“Then it was doing nothing for three weeks because I needed the screw to heal in the bone properly.

“After that I couldn’t do contact for two to three months.”

What made the time away from the field even worse was that his coach Ian Watson saw him as a key part of his starting 13 during the latter stages of the season.

“Ian Watson said he wanted me to play the last couple of games because he needed a nine before Sean Kenny came in,” he said.

“That was really gutting as well because the coaches wanted me to play but I couldn’t.”