AFTER a year plagued by a debilitating ankle injury which required two operations, former Nelson Bay rugby league junior James Elias received some heartening end-of-season news.
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The 21-year-old Newcastle Knights NSW Cup utility left for South Africa on Monday with the 20-man Lebanon national team.
Lebanon and South Africa will play World Cup qualifying matches in Pretoria on October 25 and 31 for a spot in the 14-nation 2017 Rugby League World Cup in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
"I was elated to be selected for the national team after a horrible season with the Knights Cup side," Elias said during the squad's final training run in Sydney last Saturday.
"It seemed like nothing would go right for me this season.
"I pulled a hamstring during pre-season training then after recovering, in my second game I tore my ankle ligaments which required surgery."
Unfortunately, there were complications and Elias needed a second round of surgery which ruled him out for the season.
The injury healed sufficiently in time for him to travel with the team to South Africa. Elias was born in Sydney but moved to Anna Bay at age six. He played all his junior league with the Nelson Bay club and is a third generation Lebanese player.
