Brisbane prop Matt Lodge is set to make a stunning return from a serious knee injury and run out in their NRL return clash with Parramatta on Thursday night.
There were fears Lodge would miss the 2020 season after he aggravated a partial ACL tear, which he had been carrying since 2015, at training in February.
But he has made a remarkable recovery during the NRL coronavirus shutdown and now looks set to be named on the bench for the unbeaten Broncos' Suncorp Stadium clash.
"We will name him in the No.21 this afternoon but if he gets through training today he will be in the 17," Brisbane coach Anthony Seibold said.
"(But) we expect him to get through today without any issues.
"It (return) shows a lot of determination by Lodgey. He has had to show a fair bit of resilience."
Another important addition will be skipper Alex Glenn, who missed the first two rounds with a hamstring complaint.
Seibold said Glenn and bench forward Ethan Bullemor would help give hooker Jake Turpin a rest against the Eels, with former Queensland No.9 Andrew McCullough's surprise departure to Newcastle last week.
McCullough - a 260 NRL game Broncos veteran - signed with the Knights for the rest of this season after losing his starting rake gig to Turpin and being relegated to a bench utility role.
Seibold said star forward David Fifita was "four to five weeks" away from returning from knee surgery despite removing his brace on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Seibold said the Broncos were no longer haunted by their record 58-0 finals loss last year and had nothing to prove in their return match with the Eels.
Seibold believed they had already silenced their critics after jumping to a 2-0 season start.
"It was obviously an embarrassing day for our club," Seibold said.
"(But) we haven't spoke about it this week. We have put those skeletons to bed - it's a non event.
"If there was any redemption or talk around whether we have become a better team (since last year) I think that was put to bed with some pretty tough games against the Cowboys and South Sydney (in opening two rounds)."
from WWOS http://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/nrl-s-brisbane-confident-lodge-will-play/bb16c46b-c409-4df4-b711-740c6cfcd073
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