BEN Currie says getting back onto the field after his injury nightmare has “made the dark days worthwhile.”

The second rower was a surprise inclusion in the Wire team that faced Castleford Tigers last night as he started on the left edge despite not being named in the 19-man squad.

He played 80 minutes in his familiar left second row position as he helped The Wire to a 24-10 victory at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Warrington Guardian:

Currie says he has been fit and raring to go for several weeks but was waiting for the opportune moment to return after 11 months out following a second anterior cruciate knee ligament injury in as many years.

“It’s been tough. There’s been some long days in the gym while the lads have been out on the field,” he said after the game.

“I’m glad it’s all behind me now. I’ve had a strong base of family and friends around me that have got me through it.

“Nights like this make the dark days worthwhile.

“I’ve been fit for a couple of weeks now. I’ve been ready to go but we’ve just been waiting for the right chance.

“I’ve been on stand-by and Danny Walker pulled up ill today so I got the nod.

“Steve came to me a couple of weeks ago and said he was happy for me to come back whenever I felt ready.

“I had a protocol to follow with the staff in terms of contact sessions and I passed that two weeks ago.

“We just thought with the travelling to the Catalans game last week that it wouldn’t be the best thing to do for my first game back.”

Warrington Guardian:

The England international did not look at all troubled by the left knee which has caused him to miss most of the past two-and-a-half years of action as he showed some promising touches against the Tigers.

He says his twice-reconstructed knee feels as good as it did in 2016 before his first injury but that he was at times surprised to be left out there for the full game.

“I wasn’t nervous about my knee. I had full confidence in it,” he said.

“Once I got on the field and got my first touch of the ball, I was fine.

“Once all the hype dies down, everyone soon forgets about the injury.

“The knee felt as good as it did in 2016. I felt really good on it.

“I don’t know what the plan was. I was looking to the touchline a few times wondering if it was time for a rest!

“Doing 80 will put me in good stead for a few weeks. There were points where I dropped below my standards but that fitness will come.”

Having come through his first game back unscathed, Currie can now look forward to a meeting with hometown club Wigan Warriors next Friday.

It was against Wigan that he first injured his knee in a Super 8s game in September 2016 and the Warriors’ DW Stadium was the setting for his first return – a try-scoring one in July 2017.

“We always seem to play Wigan around my comebacks,” he joked.

“They are the games you want to play in and the ones you miss when you’re on the sidelines.”