It's been a tough six weeks for Kevin Proctor.
Injuring his right shoulder bicep in the Titans' Round 9 clash against the Roosters in Mackay, the 283-game veteran was forced to get surgery in order to recover and be back on the field before the end of the season, which is looking more and more promising for the experienced back-rower.
"The surgery itself wasn't too bad. I had a night in hospital, but it was a pretty quick recovery," Proctor said.
"I thought I was gone after the first couple of days. I couldn't move... I couldn't even go to the toilet properly, but it's turned around pretty quickly and the surgeon reckons I'm a few weeks ahead of schedule, which is good."
But the champion forward admits sitting on the sideline hasn't been the hardest challenge... it's been having to watch his teammates from afar without being able to be out on the field helping them to a much-needed win.
"It's always tough watching on the sidelines," Proctor said.
"It's not a real good time for the club at the moment, but there's still plenty to salvage out of the season. We're not just going to throw in the white flag.
"We've got a lot of quality players that can either get experience at the backend of the year or we can even blood some of the younger guys in, but the season's not over for us in our minds.
"We've got plenty to salvage. We've just got to hang in there and work hard."
Sexton at Currumbin - Live on Channel 9
With Gold Coast medicos anticipating the New Zealand International will integrate to full contact training and be available for selection very soon, the 33-year-old returned early for some fans recently, when he and teammate Toby Sexton visited their junior club at Currumbin, putting plenty of smiles on many little faces as part of the Macca's club ambassador program.
"These visits do put a big smile on my face and brings it brings it down to earth," Proctor said.
"This is where it all started for Toby and I, so it shows some of these kids that this is where you can be if you work hard. We came from this club and we were in the exact same shoes as them.
"It gives them a little bit of hope that they can be able to play NRL one day, and it was really good to see some familiar faces back here."
