Asiata is in rehab after a recent operation.
Hull FC loose-forward John Asiata has revealed he is battling back from a four-month injury having ruptured his hamstring for a second time back in August. In fact, the club’s vice-captain is looking to start running around ‘Christmas time’ before a push to be fit for the start of the 2026 season.
Asiata played 17 games for Hull in his first season at the club after arriving on a three-year deal. He played the first 15 games of the year before tearing his hamstring, and then just one and a half games into his comeback, ten or so weeks later, he suffered the same injury again – ruling him out for the rest of the year.
But with the off-season and pre-season period allowing him time, Asiata is taking all the days available to him to get himself right and, in his own words, not make the same impatient calls again between his two big injuries this year. The 31-year-old has had an operation to strengthen the tendon between bone and muscle and is now hard at work in his rehab journey.
Outlining his process so far, Asiata said: “The first couple of weeks I couldn’t do anything – I was on crutches. I was limited in my range of movement for the first three to four weeks. I was at sixty degrees for two weeks, 30 degrees for one and a half weeks, then I went down to zero and then I had the brace taken off.
“The process has been pretty slow in those first three to four weeks but now that I’ve got my full range of movement back, I’m able to do my rehab.”
Asiata continued: “Time is the biggest difference for me now. I pushed boundaries when I was in the season. I felt strong; I passed all my tests and did everything that I needed to do, but I was pushing boundaries and pushing physios to move it up a notch. They’ve always got levels and stages to make sure that I do it all consistently first before I can move on, but at that stage I was pushing myself to the limit and that’s on me – that’s my fault. This time around I just have to be patient with it all.
“Like now I feel like I can squat heavier than what I am squatting but I’ve just got to wait for that time to come to squat heavier. I’ve got time now, whereas before I was chasing games.”
Asiata has also opened up on the extent of his injury and why he needed an operation. He explained: “With my hamstring, I didn’t tear the tendon off the bone but my injuries throughout the year damaged the tendon from the top to the bottom.
“The doctor said because I’ve got time now, I might as well do the operation to help it strengthen. They wrapped it in some fibre to help it get stronger but the rehab is where I do all of the hard work to make sure I can bulletproof my hamstring.
“That process from the operation – it’s about a four-month recovery so around about Christmas time is when I should be running. Whether that’s with the team or on my own, I’ll make sure I’m in a good place to start training but also get ready to play.“