Liam Byrne discusses return from injury with international prop ready to 'bounce back'

The blow, picked up in the round 25 win over Leeds Rhinos, saw the 24-year-old miss the route to the Super League Grand Final.

Byrne made 24 appearances for the Warriors last season, including his milestone 100th for the club against Hull, and admits missing the wins over Leigh Leopards and Catalans Dragons to lift the League Leaders’ Shield and the Super League trophy respectively has left him hungry for success in 2024.

“I’ve probably not felt it [hamstring injury] now for a good couple of months, which is good,” Byrne said.

“I’ve been in full training and getting some good volume into me. I’ve been feeling really good.

“There were some tough days, realising that I wasn’t going to make the Grand Final.

“For the first few days, I didn’t know how bad it was going to be. But when we got the scan results, it was a bit gutting.

“I’ve just got to bounce back, it’s the sport at the end of the day. I just put my head down in the gym and I’m looking forward to going again.

“Not being able to get my hands on that [Super League trophy] last year, I know I might have played a lot last year and people will say it’s yours as well, but it certainly doesn’t feel that way.

“You want to be playing in the big games and getting your hands on that trophy after a tough 80 minutes.

“I look forward to trying to get our hands on some silverware again this year.”

Byrne featured from the interchange bench during the abandoned friendly at Belle Vue in Matty Ashurst’s testimonial, his first minutes since the 50-0 win at Headingley Stadium.

He was included in a strong forward pack named by the reigning Super League champions that saw first appearances for Luke Thompson, Sam Walters, Sam Eseh and Kruise Leeming.

Ireland international Byrne is hoping to gain more game time in Sunday’s friendly against Hull in Scott Taylor’s testimonial, with attention on the Super League opener against Castleford Tigers and the World Club Challenge against Penrith Panthers.

“I felt good going into the Wakefield game, I hadn’t thought much about the injury,” Byrne continued.

“I felt fresh and fit and I wanted to get some minutes under my belt.

“Looking towards the World Club Challenge, I want to get in as much as I can before that game. I felt good.

“We had a lot of younger lads out there and we struggled to build something for quite a while.

“But I think we started well in the second half and our middles started really good in the first half. But it’s the first game, it’s what you expect.

“Against Hull, hopefully we’ll get into a rhythm with the senior team.

"I want to get some more hard minutes under my belt and get into a bit of a grind and then go into the first fixture feeling fit.”