But what was more complicated was the mental recovery.

Unsurprisingly, the doubts started to creep into the St George Illawarra forward's mind, Sims questioning whether a successful comeback was even possible.

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"There's always going to be fear and personal doubt in and around injuries," Sims said. "Especially because it's my third arm.

"I sort of used that a little to my advantage to use it as a timeframe. Because I've broken my arm here at the Dragons, I used that timeframe to get back to where I was pre-injury.

"I'm not going to say it was an easy thing to move on from, it definitely still today plays on my mind. Because we've only had our second contact session back since the Nines, so it's been however many weeks that is, it does play on your mind a little bit.

"It's just about the confidence you build from training the next two weeks moving into the season."

Having overcome this injury in the past, Sims knows there is just one way to quell the mental fears.

Contact. Lots of contact.

That commenced Monday when the Dragons were able to resume contact training following the coronavirus-induced competition shutdown and Sims was pleased with the early signs.

"It's just about getting the reps in there.

"All the stuff the coaches put towards the playing group out on the training field, out there however many days a week we train before our season starts, it's just about getting the reps in and actually wanting to be part of the physical contact.

"I've thought I've been holding my own still, so it's just all about that confidence."

As it turns out, Sims will end up missing just two matches, the season's suspension coming at an opportune time for the forward.

With the break providing a clean slate for all players, the Fijian international is using it as an opportunity to hit the ground running.

"That's what I'm going to use it for," Sims said.

"It come at sort of a blessing time for those lads that were injured in either the preseason or the first two rounds, for any club, leading into this back-end of the shortened, delayed season that we're having at the moment.

"I feel like it's come at a good time with my injury to help relax, rest, get back into training, leading into the two weeks into the season. I'll try to use that as best as I can."

Now that he's back healthy and preparing to return to the field when the competition resumes, Sims is determined to ensure there are no more hiccups for 2020.

The injuries of the past few years, he hopes, are now behind him.

"I just want to get back to playing good footy, not having to worry about these injuries that I've occurred in the past and just trying to play my best football for the Dragons first before anything else comes."

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