Penrith Panthers winger Josh Mansour bolts back into Origin frame after speedy rehab

PENRITH star Josh Mansour has started running again, less than three months after suffering a serious knee injury while on tour with Australia in England.

NSW's Josh Mansour attempts to bust the tackle of QLD's Justin O'Neill during State of Origin Game 2 between the NSW Blues and the Queensland Maroons at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane. Picture: Gregg Porteous

PENRITH star Josh Mansour has started running again, less than three months after suffering a serious knee injury while on tour with Australia in England.

The Daily Telegraph can confirm Mansour completed straight-line agility drills on Tuesday, testing out his knee for the first time since his collision in Kangaroos training last November.

According to club trainers, the winger looked strong and quick as he aims to return to the field ahead of schedule.

It was originally feared Mansour could miss the majority of the season, but his recovery is progressing strongly and he remains hopeful of returning midyear.

Mansour went down with a knee injury during the Four Nations.

This would be a significant boost for Penrith, who are in a prime position to contend for the premiership this season.

Mansour couldn’t be happier to be running again, tweeting his delight.

“Mannn ... words can’t describe how good it is to lace up the boots again,” he said.

Mansour has worked overtime this summer to recover from his knee injury.

On top of his in-house rehabilitation at Penrith, the Test and Origin representative has devoted endless hours to extra stretching via activities like pilates in a bid to return earlier than expected.

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Mansour’s positive progress comes as NSW coach Laurie Daley says he would most likely select the Penrith flyer for Origin 1 in Brisbane on May 31 if he is fully fit.

“If he comes back and brains it in one or two matches, then you never know,” Daley said.

“You would think he would have to have at least four or five games under his belt leading into Origin.

“If he was back a month or so before Origin, you’d certainly look at him for Origin I.

“But if he wasn’t quite there, then he’d probably be someone we’d look at further down the track.

Mansour was the Dally M winger of the year last season.

“It’s one of those ones where you just don’t know until they come back, but you can never write them off and you just keep it open-ended and see what happens when they return.”

Daley said Mansour’s swift recovery to date wasn’t a shock, because he rates the Panthers star as one of the NRL’s most businesslike players when it comes to preparation.

“Josh does the right thing, he is a professional who looks after himself really well, eats the right foods and trains hard,” he said.

“So it doesn’t surprise me that he is ahead of schedule and that he’d be doing everything in his power to get back as soon as he possibly can.

“It just shows the good sign of a professional in our game.”