Tonga will make his return for Parramatta in Saturday's clash with Penrith in what will be his first NRL game of the year. The former Queensland and Australian centre has recovered from the same type of problems which threatened to force Minichiello and Newcastle veteran Danny Buderus into retirement. The surgery - which removed a ''bone fragment the size of a pea'' and corrected a bulging disc pressing against the nerve - was a success.
But the toughest period was the rehabilitation, as he wondered whether he would make it back. During those times, Minichiello and Buderus were just a phone call away. ''There were times I thought I wouldn't play the game again,'' Tonga said. ''There were some dark moments there. When I heard Mini had the exact some problem and op, and seeing him playing Origin a couple of years later, that was really encouraging. I got in contact with him straight away, had a really good chat with him and he sent all of these exercises through emails. He told me you have to work on it religiously every day, that core-strength work. He said any time I needed a chat to call him. I'm really thankful, Mini didn't need to do that, but he took the time and it helped a lot.''
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