Mike Cooper details road to recovery with positive mentality despite lengthy lay-off scare

The 35-year-old marked his return against Castleford Tigers at the DW Stadium, having suffered a knee injury that required surgery against Penrith Panthers earlier in February.

Thankfully, the prop avoided the worst-case scenario that could have seen him sidelined for up to five months - having suffered a devastating season-ending injury in 2023 on Good Friday against St Helens.

Instead, the recovery process saw him miss seven games before making a welcomed return in Super League Round 8.

Discussing the injury sustained in the 16-12 victory that saw Wigan crowned a record-equalling fifth time World Club Challenge champions, Cooper said: “I snapped the only thing I didn’t snap last time. Everything else went in my knee but my meniscus, so we’ve taken a little bit out of that.

“But the recovery was pretty good. I was walking pretty much straight away after surgery and running within a couple of weeks, so it’s not been too bad this one.

“I felt it crack in the first couple of minutes, and once I was running around, I knew it wasn’t season-ending or anything like that.

“It just depended on how big the tear was, and it wasn’t too bad.

“This is part of the job, you take to the field and you can get injured. Although I was frustrated, those types of things (injuries) don’t really get me down that way.

“I’ve played 19 years now without any real major injuries, so to have two at the back end of my career, it’s a part of the game.”

The England international featured from the interchange bench as Matt Peet’s Warriors claimed a 36-14 victory over a spirited Castleford Tigers outfit - who looked much improved after the previous one-sided Challenge Cup quarter-final tie at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle.

“I’m happy to get back out there and get through the game with no injury,” a relieved Cooper said.

“I’ve not been able to train too much with the team, so it’s good to get back in.

“I thought Cas were great, they really tested us.

“They obviously had a good reaction from last week, so credit to them.

"We probably weren’t as happy as we’d have liked to have been at half time and we had a chat and fixed it up and I was really proud of the lads and the way they responded.”

Watching on from the sidelines, Cooper says he has been excited by the next generation of stars who have been given the opportunity in the first-team, while he’s embracing the squad competition with Sam Eseh having recently returned from injury and Sam Walters closing in on his recovery.

He continued: “I’m super impressed with all of them (the youngsters), especially Junior Nsemba and Harvie Hill and the way they’ve played over the last couple of weeks.

“They’ve grown up in a rugby league point of view; on the field they look like men out there.

"They’re both powerful lads and I thought Zach Eckersley was outstanding as well against Castleford. The future is bright, isn’t it?

“That competition makes us all step up again. It’s great for the club and that competition is healthy.”