Cameron Munster nearly had season-ending surgery as his injury frustrations grew before remarkable recovery

Storm star Cameron Munster has revealed how close he came to packing it in for 2024 as a groin and hip issue lingered before a trip to Fiji rejuvenated him.

Munster says he’s feeling ready to go” for his team’s finals campaign that begins on Saturday against Cronulla.

Already a two-time premiership winner, playing alongside club and NRL legends including Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk in 2017 and 2020, Munster is now keen to be the “old man” leading a new band of premiership winners.

The 29-year-old, who became a father for the third time this week when his new daughter arrived seven weeks early, will need post-season surgery to address the issues that sidelined him for 10 weeks, missing the State of Origin series for Queensland.

But he said the silver lining of missing so much football was that his body felt ready for the toughest games of the year.

“To be honest, I was pretty frustrated and ready to pretty much tell the doctors just go and do it (surgery) now and have the year off, and pretty much just adapt and go for a good pre-season and hopefully have a good year next year,” Munster said on Wednesday.

“So for probably an eight-week period there, I had enough. I wasn’t getting any better.

“Then I went away for a week to Fiji and just come back and it felt really good. I was a bit surprised, but I’ve had no issues since.

“I’ll come in (to the finals) feeling good mentally and physically, which is ideal.

“I think missing out of that Origin series might have been a blessing in disguise. Last couple of years have probably be a little bit flat going into the finals, so feeling fresh, ready to go.”

Munster played through as coach Craig Bellamy rested players two weeks before the finals, keen to build his football fitness and find the form he hopes can help him land a third premiership ring as the main man despite suggesting that mantle now belongs to Dally M favourite Jahrome Hughes.

“Yeah, Jahrome is the main man now. I’m just the old man getting through and in a wheelchair,” he joked.

“But no, look, I’m excited. I know I’ve had the luxury of having winning two and having that feeling, and we’ve got a great opportunity for this squad to able to do that.

“It’s a driving factor to win one without those three (Smith, Slater and Cronk) and to say that I’ve had a chance to win it with some other guys.

“But for me to be able to do that, I need to play some good footy in the final series and be able to steer the team with Hughesy to get that opportunity.”