BULLS returned to pre-season training on Tuesday night, but not second-rower Chester Butler.

He was due to have a bit of extra time off anyway due to him playing for Wales at the World Cup.

But a nasty injury in their final game against Papua New Guinea is set to delay his comeback further.

He told the T&A: "I've had to go and see a surgeon because I got poked in the eye by my teammate, which is just my luck, against Papua New Guinea.

"I've had blurred vision since and I'm just waiting to see how it goes.

"I've heard of some cases where an eye injury like this can take six to eight weeks to heal, but I don't know at this stage.

"I'm taking some medication to try and clear it up, but I might need an injection around my eye, or even an operation on it if nothing else works."

Butler put pen-to-paper on a two-year permanent deal with Bulls in August, while on loan at the club from Huddersfield for the 2022 season, and he is hugely enthusiastic about this new-look squad's future.

He said: "It's quite exciting looking ahead.

"2022 was a bit of a dud for Bulls as we had a really good team on paper but we didn't progress on the field.

"In truth, we probably shocked people with how bad we were at times.

"But my new deal runs until the end of 2024, and I feel we can do big things in those next two years and beyond.

"We've made some great signings, like Jack Walker and Bodene Thompson from Leeds, and George Roby on loan from Huddersfield, who was the League 1 Young Player of the Year last season at Swinton.

"It's going to be a completely different team in 2023, a fitter and faster one, with experience brought in too.

"I think this coming year feels like a foundation one for many years to come, and I'm glad to be starting out at the beginning of that journey."

Butler played 19 times for Bulls last season, but was hampered at times by niggles keeping him out.

He insisted: "I'd been out with injury for over two years before last season, and I only got about a quarter of a pre-season in at Huddersfield.

"To do a full season in the Championship with Bradford was always going to be tough, as I knew my body would take a battering.

"I expected odd niggles to rule me out from time to time, so I was shocked when I ended up playing over 20 games for Bulls and Wales combined in 2022 to be honest.

"For me, 2022 was about getting through it, having game time, and doing enough to earn myself a new contract, and I managed all three."

Butler ended the 2022 campaign with Wales, playing in all three of their games against the Cook Islands, Tonga and Papua New Guinea.

The 27-year-old said: "It was a fantastic experience for us as a team.

"I don't care what anyone else says, we had the hardest group of the World Cup, as all three of our opponents were littered with NRL and Super League players in their squads.

"We lost all three games but other than at times against Papua New Guinea, we can be very proud of ourselves.

"I thought we were especially good in the first half against both the Cook Islands and Tonga."

As for his own individual displays at the World Cup, Butler reflected: "John Kear (Wales' head coach) pulled me aside in training before the tournament and asked if I'd mind playing in the middles.

"I've played as a centre before, and normally play in the back row nowadays, but I'd only really played in the middles when I was younger for a bit of a laugh.

"It felt a bit like being thrown in at the deep end against top island sides, but I'd always play wherever John asks me to, as I would for any coach, as long as it means I'm on the pitch.

"It was a bit of a different experience to what I was used to, playing there at the World Cup, but I enjoyed it, and thought I did okay given I was playing out of position.

"I enjoyed the tournament on and off the pitch, and it's great to have an experience like that in life.

"World Cups are a rare thing, they only come along every few years, and you never know, by the next one, some up-and-coming talent might have taken my place in the squad."