Valentine Holmes will have to play through the pain barrier when he returns from his shoulder injury, NRL.com has reported.
Holmes will be out for a month, but he won’t require surgery that would have ended his season, North Queensland Cowboys head coach Todd Payten has revealed.
Payten said his fullback’s return would depend on how much pain he could cope with.
“It is going to be tough for Val, there is no doubt he is going to have to play hurt,” Payten said.
“It is a tough thing to do in our game and it is going to be a good learning curve for him moving forward as a professional.
“When Val has played well, we have won our games so he is a big and important player for us. If he needed surgery it would have been six months, so it is a real positive from our end.
“It is a pain management thing and on a personal note I know how disappointed Val is. He wants to do his bit for the team and he is unable to.
“His mindset at the moment is just getting himself as fit as he can as quick as he can, and he is going to dive into his rehab.”
