Manly coach Des Hasler reckons everybody at the club is as excited to see Dylan Walker back on field as he is about being back after the centre was cleared by the NRL to resume his career.
Sidelined since the start of the year as part of the NRL's ‘no fault stand down’ rule, Walker returns on Sunday against the Sharks after he was not guilty of two assault charges earlier this week.
"He's just looking forward to play and so is the club," Hasler said.
"At the end of the day he wants to get out there and do what he's good at."
It’s a timely return for Walker and teammate Addin Fonua-Blake after the Sea Eagles suffered another series of injuries in their 26-10 magic round loss to the Broncos.
Moses Suli left the field in the 19th minute and is set to miss four to five weeks with a broken finger, while Toafofoa Sipley was ruled out for the season with an ACL injury.
Sea Eagles back Walker to take centre stage
Hasler said he has faith that the 24-year-old centre won’t have any trouble finding his feet again, despite not playing a single minute this season.
"I'd imagine he'll handle it okay," Hasler said.
"Dylan has a wealth of experience so he's no stranger to the game.
"He played at the highest level - in Origin, for Australia and he's played in semifinals series and grand finals."
The Sharks are facing the same headache as Manly with several players on the injury list.
Sharks v Sea Eagles - Round 10
Daly Cherry-Evans (ankle), Tom Trbojevic (hamstring), Lachlan Croker (hamstring) and Trent Hodkinson (knee) remain sidelined for Manly, while Shaun Johnson (hamstring) Matt Moylan (hamstring), Wade Graham (knee) and Aaron Woods (foot) are recovering from various injuries.
Hasler said although the Sea Eagles have the upper hand going into Sunday's match stats wise, getting the better of the Sharks on their home turf is never easy.
"They're a good side the Sharks and they're a bit like us - they've had the highs and lows of injuries," Hasler said.
"We've won 15 of the last 17 contests against the Sharks and let's hope tomorrow we take it to 16. But Shark Park is a hard ground to win at."