Bulls star Jamie Langley admits he's having to play the waiting game with his wrist injury.

The Great Britain loose forward is yet to get the all-clear after surgery in July.

However, he isn't panicking and is confident of being ready for the start of next season.

"Hopefully I'll be right for the first game," said Langley.

"I'm not far off and am doing everything in training really apart from full contact.

"If we had a game tomorrow I'd probably play - but I'd just take a lot of pain-killing injections!

"There's still a bit of stiffness but I had a follow-up with the surgeon this week and a cortisone injection to try and help it all settle down.

"That should be kicking in now and hopefully it will help."

Langley missed the final two months of last season after eventually giving in to the restrictive wrist problem that required a major reconstruction.

He had hoped to be back up to speed by now but, after an injury-hit last campaign, he won't risk forcing the issue and getting set back before Super League XIII has even started.

The opener at Wakefield isn't until February 10 and Langley has plenty of time to fine-tune.

"It was supposed to be a two to three-month recovery time," he explained.

"But the thing with this type of surgery is, any normal person would probably be recommended to give up sport altogether afterwards.

"Being a rugby player, we don't get that luxury! We've got to get back to work.

"Some repairs might respond quicker than others but it's best to try and get it sorted properly.

"That's what I'm doing and it's just a case of being patient."

The injury means Langley has had an extended off-season compared to most, his last match being the win over St Helens way back on July 13.

He admits it has dragged at times.

"Your body always welcome the rest when it comes," said Langley, who turns 24 next Saturday.

"Sometimes you really need it and you can't wait but then after two weeks of doing nothing you want to get back into your rugby.

"It's great to get training again. It's always a buzz, even with this cold weather and the prospect of friendlies.

"When you get past that and that first match starts getting closer the buzz just grows and we're all raring to go.

"The club has taken a really smart approach to pre-season this year and all the lads are looking in really good shape already."

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