Warriors coach Andrew McFadden's confident there's no risk of further injury to Shaun Johnson, after selecting the star playmaker as his captain for the NRL Auckland Nines.
McFadden's been impressed with Johnson's work ethic, as he battled back to fitness from a broken ankle.
"He had to have an uninterrupted pre-season, obviously coming back from a major injury, but we said nice and early that if it was to make it back he'd have to make it through pretty much all of training and he's done that," said McFadden.
"He's excited and I'm very excited that he can play."
Shaun Johnson working hard in training (Photosport)
McFadden snubbed suggestions it's a risk playing Johnson in a pre-season tournament, stating that a contact game like rugby league is a dangerous game.
"It's no more risk than what we do at training, so I'm pretty happy for him to play in the Nines. He's fit, he's ready to go and I think there's no more risk than usual."
McFadden's named a strong team, which also features big off-season signing Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, but injury niggles have ruled out hooker Issac Luke.
"We wanted Issac to play, but he's had a couple of mishaps in the last five weeks, couple of tight niggles, so we just said it's not worth risking. Unfortunately he hasn't made it"
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