Ryan Papenhuyzen goes public with startling new injury reveal amid Cameron Munster's return

Ryan Papenhuyzen has revealed that he is managing yet another injury just one month after returning from an ankle fracture. NRL fans were left devastated when Papenhuyzen went down injured earlier this season, clutching at his troublesome right ankle, during the round nine game at the beginning of May.

Scans following the match showed the Storm star had suffered a fracture above the plate in his right ankle - which was put in after his broken ankle at the end of last season. And the 26-year-old missed several more weeks of football before returning in round 16 against the Dolphins.

But the luckless fullback told Andrew Moore on ABC radio that on his NRL return, he injured his foot again and has been playing through the pain ever since. "I've been dealing with plantar fasciitis slash heel injury," Papenhuyzen revealed following the Storm's 24-8 win over the Roosters on Saturday. "Just another complicated injury to add to the list… It's one of those things you can play through and I'm sure there are other guys in the team that have been through much worse.

"It has been a bit of a weird process this one. I hurt it in the Dolphins game, not actually sure when it might have been during the kickoff and I haven’t been able to weight bear on my heel for nearly a month now. Done a few tests these past weeks and had a few scans and it sort of showed a bit in my plantar fascia which is in the bottom of your foot. It feels like you are walking on a sharp rock digging into the back of your heel and I've also had pain on the outside of my foot."

Papenhuyzen says while he has been playing through the pain of plantar fasciitis, he has required two needles before running out onto the field to manage his outer foot pain. In recent weeks doctors have been trying to find the exact cause of the pain and have managed to narrow it down to two nerves that are seemingly causing the Storm No.1 problems. And Papenhuyzen has been getting two injections prior to kick off to address the pain.

"It's one of those ones that’s not really bad (plantar fasciitis) but it’s another complicated injury and thankfully enough I have been able to play... I'm the worst with needles too so I reckon in the past 3 or 4 weeks I have had 25 needles (in an attempt to address the outer foot pain) and the fact only five of them have worked doesn’t make me like them any more."

Cameron Munster a 'good chance' of returning this weekend

Meanwhile, Storm five-eighth Cameron Munster will need to get through two training sessions this week before being cleared to return to action. The Melbourne No.6 has been sidelined with a hip injury since Magic Round but the club rate him a "good chance" of making his long-awaited return this weekend.

Munster suffered a tear in the adductor tendon back in May during the Storm’s dominant win over Parramatta and he is expected to be named to return against the Eels on Friday night. “He’s a good chance for Friday night, but he’s got to get through this week,” Storm head of football Frank Ponissi told the Herald Sun. “He’ll train today, he’ll train with the team tomorrow and then a decision will be made whether he’s included in the squad.”