BY CURTIS WOODWARD

Melbourne Storm legend Billy Slater is set to make his long awaited return from injury in a foreign rugby league land.

The iconic fullback is expected to pull on the purple jersey against Canterbury-Bankstown in Hobart on February 18th.

It’s been a nightmare two years for Slater who played seven games in 2015 and suffered another season-ending shoulder injury in the opening round of the 2016 season.

Slater could only watch as the Storm went on without him eventually going down to Cronulla-Sutherland in the grand final.

Despite recent reports suggesting Slater may never play again, former Melbourne captain and club employee Robbie Kearns said the mercurial Queenslander would be heading to Tasmania for the trial.

Felt good having the footy back in my hands today 😀 @storm @adidasAU pic.twitter.com/LDW51SXAxT

— Billy Slater (@billyslater) November 22, 2016

“He’s had two years of hell – two reconstructions on the same shoulder and there’s still some doubt about whether or not he’s fully recovered,” Kearns said.

“He’s been training quite well but he hasn’t done a whole lot of impact work so I doubt they will play him in the other trials but they will definitely want to play him in the last trial available which is the Hobart game.

“It’s very important and hopefully he will be able to get his career on track after two years of hell.”

Expert Andrew Johns said that he had been in contact with Slater and confirmed that the Hobart clash may be more than a comeback but a do-or-die encounter with a glittering career on the line.

“I don’t think Slater will ever play Origin again, I spoke to him the other night,” Johns told Triple M.

“He said he may not ever play again.”

If Slater fails to get through the Bulldogs showdown, an immediate retirement announcement is on the cards.

It would be a sad end for one of the game’s greatest fullbacks but even more of a reason for rugby league fans in Hobart to get to the match.

They may be watching history.

@woodward_curtis