Warriors’ Ropati admits to injury doubts

Warriors centre Jerome Ropati admits to uncertainty as he makes his comeback from a second serious knee injury.

Ropati says his rehabilitation from the injury that ended his NRL season in May is on track and he hopes to be back to full fitness by January.

But there’s always the nagging worry there could be some bad news along the way that threatens his career.

“I always feel like I really don’t know if it’s going to come out all right,” the 27-year-old said.

“It’s going good at the moment. But it could come down to that, down the track, it might not be.”

Ropati needed surgery after dislocating the patella in the knee.

He had also missed most of the 2011 season, and the Warriors’ run to the grand final, after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in the same knee.

His first lengthy spell out of action was difficult, although it did strengthen him mentally.

The second one was even tougher, especially as the Warriors slumped down the ladder to finish the season 14th.

“When you play together as a team, you work together as a team and you win and lose as a team,” he said.

“When we lost, we all lost. We all felt the pain and all felt responsible.”

Ropati’s contract is for one year and he hasn’t thought further than next season.

As for how the Warriors would respond to a forgettable 2012, he said a lot would depend on pre-season training.

“I can’t say too much right now, because we’ve only just started,” he said.

“But as long as, by March, we’re all communicating well and we’ve created that bond through hard work, I think we’ll be right.”

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