Bulls star Chris Nero is confident his shoulder problems are now behind him.

The Aussie centre has been back in full training and is in the 19-man squad for tomorrow night’s trip to Salford.

He has played just one of the club’s last five fixtures since suffering a pain-ful dislocation against Leeds.

Nero returned in the win over Wakefield but came off early after suffering a relapse and missed Sunday’s defeat by Celtic Crusaders.

Another visit to the specialist has confirmed he will need an operation but the player said: “It can hold off until the end of the year.

“I didn’t do anything new in that Wakefield game. The shoulder felt good but just wasn’t right so as the game went on it progressively got sorer and sorer.

“It’s coming along pretty good now though. I’ve been doing loads of rehab and I’m feeling heaps more confident with it.

“I’ve got a lot of strength back, which is the main thing.

“I’ve had an MRI scan and we now know exactly what happened. We’ve found a way to manage the shoulder better after seeing that.”

Nero completed some contact work yesterday and said: “I did a bit and now I’ll see how it reacts. I sort of know as I’m training and it does feel a lot better.

“I had a needle the other week and that settled the joint down, which was a bit painful.

“But that’s gone now. There’s just a bit of a ligament holding the tendons to my bicep but I’m working on that and things are feeling good.”

Nero could come straight back in for makeshift centre Michael Platt if he doesn’t suffer a flare-up.

His experience and defensive qualities will prove useful against a Salford side already buoyed by a surprise win at Nero’s former club Huddersfield Giants.

Back in Super League for the first time since 2007, Shaun McRae’s team struggled early on but have now picked up four victories – the same as Bradford.

“They’re making a good fist of things at the moment,” Nero added.

“They’ve put it all together and are playing the sort of footy that suits them.

“Salford complete sets and the boys in the right position are playing well too; their front rows are getting forward and their halves are doing well too.

“It’s going to be hard to beat them as they’re playing well.

“We’ve got to turn up with the intensity we know we can and if we can do that we’re in with a big shout.”

The characterless defeat against Celtic is the latest in a long line of setbacks from the Bulls this term.

Boss Steve McNamara had worked hard last week to make sure there was no complacency and the players were well aware of that threat.

However, once over the touchline, they failed to deliver again against one of the lesser-ranked sides and suffered a fourth home defeat of the season.

Nero, 28, concedes it is up to the players as individuals to correct the problem.

“I think it is just mental application,” he said, having seen Bulls show their promise by turning over big-hitters Leeds and St Helens.

“Some weeks it’s a lot easier to get up for games than others. Obviously we had Wakefield in Edinburgh – which was a big occasion – and Leeds and Saints are easy to get up for, but it’s the other games when teams aren’t the so-called big names.

“They’re the games you still have to be exactly the same with. I think it’s just a matter of people understanding that and then doing the same thing consistently every week.

“We know what we have to do and it’s up to us to do it.”