Bradford centre Shontayne Hape is aiming to make up for lost time by extending the Bulls' season by another month.
The 25-year-old New Zealand international spent six months on the sidelines after undergoing a third knee reconstruction but he made a successful comeback in last Friday's final match of the regular Super League season, a 20-10 defeat at Hull.
Now feeling refreshed and hungry for matches, Hape is desperately hoping his side can overcome Wigan in Friday's sudden-death play-off tie at Odsal and keep alive their hopes of a seventh Grand Final appearance in nine years.
"It's been quite hard sitting and watching the team go about their business," said Hape, who suffered cruciate ligament damage in round seven back in March.
"It was tough having someone say you can't do your job for the next five months.
"I tried to keep myself as busy as I could but you can only do so much. It does get to you - you have your ups and downs.
"But the 80 minutes I played last week felt like the best 80 minutes I've felt all year, being back out with the lads and doing something to contribute to the team."
Hape, who was recently included in the greatest-ever Bradford team chosen to celebrate the club's centenary, is grateful that his team-mates have put themselves in a position to reach Old Trafford thanks to a third-place finish.
But he admits to feeling guilty about one of them having to be displaced to accommodate his comeback.
Former Huddersfield centre James Evans was a straight replacement back in March while Ben Harris switched to the pack against Hull to make way for Hape's return.
"I felt quite bad coming in because some of the guys who had played all year had to miss out," said Hape.
"Chris McKenna missed out last week when I took Ben Harris' place. He got our best back of the year award but had to move into the second row.
"I felt bad but, in the end, we're a team and we all do things for each other.
"Last week I did quite a bit of work because I wanted to make up some lost time. I tried to do some work for the forwards as well as the backs."
Bradford are 15-2 with one bookmaker to repeat their efforts of 2005, when under Brian Noble they became the first team to win the Grand Final from outside the top two, and Hape warns they are once more in the mood to prove the doubters wrong.
"Everyone had written us off at the beginning of the year, saying we weren't going to be a top-six team," he said.
"But we've beaten Leeds and Saints and a lot of the young guys have stepped up to the plate.
"We've sort of been consistent but it doesn't matter what's gone, it's all about the back end of the season."
Bradford captain Paul Deacon will undergo a fitness test on Thursday on the hamstring injury that has kept him out of the last two matches while Wigan will be unchanged from the side that beat St Helens to clinch sixth spot.
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