Robbie Fowler is hopeful a frustrating run of injuries is behind him, allowing him to play his first game for North Queensland against Wolverhampton on Wednesday night.
The 35-year-old former Liverpool striker has endured a succession of groin and hip injuries since joining North Queensland last February, but coach Ian Ferguson has confirmed his star signing will get a long-awaited run on the park against Wolves.
The Fury only arrived in Perth on Monday afternoon and was soon put through a light training session where Fowler appeared to be moving freely, untroubled by the more recent hip complaint.
“I just got off a plane so just getting the legs going, it feels not too bad to be fair,” Fowler said.
“Obviously in terms of fitness, I’m probably miles behind the rest of the lads, (but) as everyone probably knows, you get fitter and a little bit sharper by the more games you play, so I’m hoping to be involved in the game Wednesday.”
“It’s been horrible. Anyone will tell you, you go to a new club, you go to a new place, you want to get yourself involved straight away in terms of kicking balls.”
“Unfortunately I’ve not been able to do that so there’s a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.”
Fowler said he wasn’t sure how much he’d play on Wednesday night, but said it may be limited as the club wouldn’t risk his fitness so early.
“The fitness fellows and the physios, they’ll probably tell me to calm down because obviously the type of player I am, I want to just get myself involved in any way, regardless of being injured.”
“I obviously like to be part of the team, the camaraderie, so that’s probably one of the things I’ve missed so I think it’s just a case of them holding me back a little bit as well.”
“(But) especially for us as well, there’s not long to go now before the start of the season, so I think it’s important that we probably try and get as many players as we can now, so we can try and start firing on all cylinders,” he said.
Having escaped the spotlight in England, the striker may have been forgiven for thinking his issues with the English press were thousands of miles away.
But Fowler, the fourth-highest scorer in English Premiership history with 161 goals, soon found the Daily Mail catching up with him last week, reporting he was considering a move back to Tranmere Rovers to play under former Liverpool team-mate John Barnes.
Fowler immediately denied the report but said such rumours didn’t help him fit in with his new team-mates.
“You come to a new club and I’ve sort of kept my head down and not done many interviews the past month, so I just wanted to come and try and get myself fit.”
“If people want to write stories, then that’s nothing to do with me, the good thing was I came out and quashed it straight away.”
“My family have only been in Townsville a week, so those reports saying they’re unsettled, I’ve obviously not got a clue where it comes from.”
“But it’s a lovely place and I’ve been there three months and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it, apart from the injuries,” he said.
