Buderus on the mend
By BRETT KEEBLE
Feb. 4, 2013, 10:48 p.m.
INSPIRATIONAL Knights general Danny Buderus feels like "a new man" less than a week after undergoing back surgery that has salvaged his 14th and final NRL campaign.
The former Newcastle, NSW and Australian captain is back at home and has already begun the rehabilitation and recovery process in preparation for an anticipated return late next month or in early April.
Knights chief executive Matt Gidley, Buderus's friend and long-time former teammate, said the veteran hooker was already feeling the benefits of the discectomy.
In the procedure, surgeons removed herniated disc material pressing against Buderus's spinal cord in his lower back and causing him extreme pain.
"I've just been on the phone with Danny for 20 minutes and he's fantastic," Gidley told the Newcastle Herald on Monday night.
"He said it was instant relief, so his recovery's going superbly well.
"He's a new man, he was just telling me now.
"He feels fantastic, he said the surgery went really well, and now he's just working his way through recovery, getting physio and doing some rehab.
"He's looking forward to working through his rehab program and his recovery and getting ready to play footy again."
Gidley said there was no definite return date set, but coach Wayne Bennett said last week that the club's medical staff were working towards an eight-week recovery period.
If Buderus was cleared on March 27, eight weeks after the operation, he could be available to play the round-four game against the Raiders at Hunter Stadium on Sunday, March 31, or the round-five game against the Dragons at Jubilee Oval on Sunday, April 7.
"We're aiming for eight weeks," Bennett said.
"That's our margin call. These guys are elite athletes and they rehab better than anybody . . ..
"There have been a couple of other instances . . . when guys got back in six to eight weeks."
Buderus, who turns 35 tomorrow, will be the NRL's oldest player this season.
He will start the season on 242 NRL games, needing eight to pass Andrew Johns (249) as the Knights' most capped player.
Gidley said former Raiders hooker Travis Waddell would still join the Knights in Coffs Harbour next week to play an NRL trial against the Rabbitohs on February 16.
Waddell is training with the Indigenous All Stars in Brisbane this week in preparation for the annual exhibition game against the NRL All Stars at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.The 23-year-old hooker is contracted to Queensland Cup club Souths Logan but spent a week training with the Knights last month.
Meanwhile, Knights recruits Jeremy Smith, David Fa'alogo and Anthony Quinn will join some of their new teammates at three primary schools in Singleton today as part of the annual NRL community carnival.
