Jun 28th, 2017

Jun 28th, 2017

He's three strong games into his return from a knee reconstruction, but Penrith star Josh Mansour admits he's still battling mental demons over his injury.

Mansour missed an opportunity to ice a win over North Queensland last week when he failed to contest a kick that resulted in Kyle Feldt screaming over him to set up a last-gasp win.

The former Kangaroos winger believed the kick was overshot, however also admitted that leaping in games is one of the last remaining mental hurdles in his comeback.

"Just getting up in the air, bracing for the impact on the ground. That was the last stage in my rehab that I had to tick the box. You can't get enough practice to be honest," Mansour said.

Mansour appeared to have picked up where he left off pre-injury when he scored a try, ran a game-high 213 metres, and broke five tackles in his return against Canterbury in round 13.

He is currently averaging 191 metres and seven tackle breaks through three games, but concedes he is yet to locate his best form.

"There's still a bit of confidence that I want, but that's getting more games under my belt. It's not easy coming back from an ACL injury, anyone will tell you who's experienced it," he said.

"But I definitely want to keep improving and get back to the form (I was in) at the back end of last year.

"It's mental and physical, to be honest. But that just comes from getting more games and experience along the way because it's a different knee.

"It's not the same, not like the old knee I had. I've just got to adjust to it."

©AAP2017