Todd Carney's back, with the right attitude MONTHS of altitude training and weeks of sprint work have played their part. But above all else, attitude and determination have Todd Carney on target to make his return from major off-season surgery in the opening round of the premiership. Carney, who tore his Achilles tendon in the club's finals loss to Canberra last September, will sit out the Sharks' final trial this weekend, but coach Shane Flanagan is confident the 26-year-old will play against Gold Coast in round one. "The amount of work he has done, we have had to hold him back," Flanagan said. He has been wanting to get involved and we have had to say no. He hasn't been real happy about it at times, but we have had to err on the side of caution. It was mapped out every day for him since last November, from the time he had surgery. It's been a long process and they (the medical staff) have done a great job. He has done a great job. He's looking good. He is in good shape. For the first couple of months of his rehabilitation, Carney travelled to the Australian Institute of Sport at Homebush twice a week to undergo altitude training. He eventually cut that back to once a week. In recent weeks, he has begun training with noted sprint coach Roger Fabri, who worked with Carney during his time at the Sydney Roosters. "We incorporated a little bit of his work into training because he has worked with him before and knows his strengths and weaknesses," Flanagan said. He is doing a fair bit of speed work at the moment and it's pretty impressive. He (Fabri) doesn't seem to think (Carney) has lost anything. Carney's comeback has eased some of the concerns surrounding the Sharks' walking wounded. Captain Paul Gallen (quad) is only a 50 per cent chance to play in the club's final trial against Newcastle in Tamworth, as is Luke Lewis (stomach muscle). Both should be fit for round one. As for Carney, he is on target to take his place against the Titans. Flanagan can't speak highly enough of the NSW five-eighth and the commitment he has shown to getting himself ready to play. "I haven't seen that side of him," Flanagan said. He has always been a really good trainer and super fit. Obviously he has natural football ability. He has always trained really hard. I didn't notice that until he came to the club last year, he is one of the fittest in the squad. It was never planned for him (to play in the trials). Part of his program was he started back full team training this week. He has done a lot of running and unopposed stuff. Now he can do all the opposed stuff and he is in the main group. I have been really impressed with how he has handled it. Some of the training sessions he has done, he hasn't eased through them or cruised through them. He has been training really hard from day one when he was in a boot, in plaster. Obviously since he has been out he has trained really hard. He has had a lot of help but if he didn't jump into it, have the right attitude towards it, he wouldn't be on the schedule he is.