SAINTS loose forward Morgan Knowles reluctantly turned down the chance of touring with the Great Britain last autumn after admitting that his injuries meant he would not have been able to do the Lions shirt justice.

Instead he spent the off-season recovering from the surgery to repair major damage to both shoulders – something he had delayed for a couple of years.

And after overcoming the significant challenges presented with that double op, Knowles paid tribute to physio Nathan Mill in helping him get back up and running after missing the opening three matches of the Super League season.

Tough performances in the thick of the action against Hull FC and Sydney Roosters have certainly got the 23-year-old back up to speed – and that will build with more game time.

The 2019 Dream Team loose forward said: “I feel good now – but for 14 or 15 weeks it was tough, especially in the first month.

“Because I got both of my shoulders done at the same time, I was in two block casts.

“If you can imagine sleeping in that all the time and those challenges of everyday life, washing, cooking, cleaning, dressing – and the everyday things you have to do in life.

“You don’t realise all the little things that you need – but luckily my girlfriend helped me out with that and helped me get through.”

The alternative would have been to get one operated upon, waiting three weeks, and then getting the other shoulder done.

It would have meant a more prolonged recovery and a staggered rehab, and in all likelihood would have kept him out of the World Club Challenge

The big-hitting Barrovian back-rower explained the nature of his injuries – something he had soldiered on with during last season’s stellar year.

“I had pretty much completely ruptured my labrums in both of my shoulders,” he said.

“There had been major damage and wear and tear and was advised a couple of years ago that I probably needed surgery and played another 60 or 70 games with them, so that made them a bit worse.

“They tidied everything up and put my labrums back together.”

He explained that injuries of this sort are not uncommon in rugby league, given the high-impact nature of the sport.

“I suppose it comes about through tackling, the awkward positions you put your body in and then add on lifting in the gym.

“If you tested every rugby player’s shoulders there will be some sort of damage somewhere.

“It had got to the stage where I needed them doing.

“You are never 100 per cent as a player – when you are a young lad and first come in you are under the illusion that you’ll always feel great but once you’ve played a handful of games you know that is not the case.

“You just get yourself in the best position you can be and manage all your pain, niggles and injuries.”

With Great Britain re-forming for the first time since 2007, last autumn was a glorious opportunity for Knowles to put some Welsh representation in the combined national squad.

It would have been just the step up for Knowles, a World Cup player with Wales in 2017, who represents the country of his Rhondda Valley born mother.

But he knew before the season’s end that he would not be making that trip to New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

“It got to the stage where I was just getting through and just about doing a job – but it felt like if I had been selected for Great Britain I would not have done myself, the Lions shirt and the rest of the boys justice,” he said.

“To step it up at international would have been a step too far.

“Towards the back end of last year I was missing a lot of training sessions and wasn’t doing much in the gym and everything was adapted so that culminated in that decision to pull myself out and get my shoulders sorted.”