Herman Ese’ese expects to make his Hull FC return shortly after the start of next year’s Super League campaign.
The Black and Whites prop was named in the Super League Dream Team on Sunday after a remarkable campaign at the MKM Stadium, in which he scored eight tries. However, Ese’ese had to collect his prestigious Dream Team jersey on crutches after rupturing his Achilles while in action for Hull against Leeds Rhinos late last month.
The injury meant Ese’ese sat out of Hull’s final three Super League games and that came a huge blow to John Cartwright’s side as they just missed out on a spot in the Super League play-offs.
However, the prop is hopeful that he won’t miss too much of next season, with Hull building a fearsome pack around him for 2026.
Ese’ese’s surgery was a success and almost one month on from picking up the injury, he is targeting a return to play around Easter, which would ensure he could still have a huge say on Hull’s campaign next time around.
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Hull FC prop opens up on his injury
Speaking to Serious About Rugby League at the Dream Team press event, Ese’ese said on his recovery: “It’s going well. It’s been a successful surgery, I’m three weeks post op now and I’ve had no problems or pain whatsoever.
“I spoke to the specialist and they’re really happy with how it’s healed up. I’m on the right track and I’ll be in the moon boot for another month and then we’ll go from there.
“It’s a straight Achilles rupture. It’s actually my first injury throughout my whole career, I’ve had a good run with injuries, it’s my first surgery, my first major injury and it’s a big one.
“I’m not a player that misses out on games and training, so it was weird to be a spectator watching the boys trying to push for a play-off spot and I couldn’t be there to help them out. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy because we were already down on troops but I couldn’t do much and I was extremely gutted I couldn’t be there for them.”
Detailing how the injury occurred, he added: “I just went to go and push off it and I honestly thought someone kicked me from behind. It felt like a kick. I went to stand back up and it just felt loose, I just knew straight away it was my Achilles, I felt a little gap there so I knew I was done.
“I was about to carry on. It wasn’t until I went to go and walk, it just felt loose. I was crying and I got really emotional because I knew it wasn’t going to be good news.
“It will be six to seven months. I’ve spoken with the head physio, the specialist as well and they said it should be around the end of March or start of April.”
