Grounded Manly flyer Jason Saab has revealed his targeted return date from a long-term knee injury that cut short his 2022 campaign as excitement builds amid a new attacking direction for the club.
Saab suffered an ACL injury in a 44-24 loss to the Titans in Round 22 last year, which threatened to cut his 2023 season in half, but Saab revealed he was hopeful of returning as early as Round 10 after a seamless rehabilitation so far.
“The recovery is going really well,” Saab told foxsports.com.au.
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“We have got great doctors and physios at Manly, so it has not been a bad rehabilitation process.
“We are at almost six months now and I am running well and moving well and feeling alright.
“I just have to take it week by week. I’m not sure when I can return yet. As early as possible. Before Round 10 would be nice.
“Whether that is doable or not I’m not sure. It depends on the testing. But it is not too late in the season.”
Reuben Garrick’s potential move to the centres could mean a change of wings for Saab when he returns, but the 22-year-old is keeping the focus on getting back to full fitness first.
“I’m not too sure what side I will be on at the moment,” Saab said.
“I have only just got my head around my rehab, so I’m not thinking about what side I’m on let a lone being in the team.
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“That is kind of the mentality you have got to work from.
“But whichever side I’m on I’m happy. If I’m on the left that is where Reuben has been training.
“But for me at the moment I am not even thinking about that. I am just trying to get rehab done and play footy again wherever it is, so we will see.”
Saab revealed that the fact Manly have a number of players in their casualty ward has actually been a silver lining during his recovery.
“Being in the rehab group has not been too bad because we have got a few boys in rehab, which is not a good thing, but it is not the worst when you are in it as well,” Saab said.
“The boys kind of get around each other.
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“Alec Tuitavake is one of the younger boys and we had our first rehab run on the same day. He has done his ACL as well, so we have been together all the way through.
“It has been tough obviously watching the footy, but we are getting the footy in the hands now during rehab and that makes it a bit easier.”
Another player who has been in the rehab group of late is luckless star Tom Trbojevic, who returned from his trip to America on Monday to try as he aims to put his hamstring issues behind him.
Saab is backing Trbojevic to be back to full fitness in time for Round 1 against the Bulldogs.
“He’s alright, he obviously wasn’t too happy when he did his hamstring because he has done it a few times and it gets tough,” Saab said.
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“But a week later he was in good spirits and he is a professional, so he just gets his job done.
“He was over there enjoying his time in Philadelphia watching some sport and working with one of the world’s best rehabilitation coaches.
“He was back on Monday and I’m sure he will be fit for Round 1.”
Despite the injury Saab signed a contract extension in October that will tie him to the Manly club until at least the end of the 2026 season and he revealed he never planned on going anywhere else.
“I was always committed to Manly,” Saab said.
“This is where I want to play long-term. We have got some great players here and the club is going forward.
“So it was an easy decision for me to stay.”
Despite the fact he will miss the first 10 weeks of the season at least, Saab is confident Manly has the speed in the outside backs to cover for him.
“Tolutau Koula is always up there,” Saab said in terms of the speed demons in the team.
“Reuben is quick this year. He’s decided he is going to be fast this year.
“Kaeo Weekes is quick. Everyone is running at a pretty good speed, so it is good to have a fast team.”
Saab is also expecting big things from two rookie forwards in 2023.
“Gordon Chan Kum Tong is set for a big year,” Saab said.
“He is a hooker. He is a short fella, but he has a good footy brain and very explosive and good in contact for his size. He is one to watch.
“Also Samuela Fainu is a big back-rower and I reckon he will debut this year definitely. Those are the two I would watch out for.”
Manly have overhauled their structures under new coach Anthony Seibold after Des Hasler’s departure, but Saab is confident the team will have the game plan down pat come Round 1.
“New coach means new systems and honestly everyone has just got their head around it and we have to move on because it is a new year,” Saab said.
“There is not too much you can do about that (2022), so the boys are just looking forward and ready to rip in with the new structures and we will see how it goes.”
Despite the off-field drama surrounding the club in 2022, Saab is confident Manly can turn their on-field fortunes around and return to the finals, if they can get some luck with injuries.
However, he concedes they learnt a lesson from expecting to pick up where they left off last year after making the 2021 preliminary final.
“Having our strongest team helps,” Saab said.
“Having no injuries helps as well.
“But other than that I see 2022 as a big learning experience.
“We kind of just went into that year thinking we could just roll back into it from the year before and just perform.
“But teams game plan and they change their tactics and that’s all it was really and we got caught off guard.
“We have just got to go back out there this year and play footy like we were. We have a good new attack coach in Shane Flanagan as well.
“We struggled to put points on the board last year, but I have no doubt we will be scoring some points this year.
“Flanno is the whiz when it comes to attack, so it is all exciting. It is a huge challenge every year and the boys are up for it.”
