July 16 was one of the first dates Paul Johnson circled on his calendar when this season's fixture list came out.

That was the day the Great Britain centre would make his much anticipated return to the JJB Stadium to take on home-town club Wigan - a team he played his entire career for before being deemed surplus to requirements following last year's Grand Final defeat to Bradford.

But a broken arm suffered against Castleford wrecked Johnson's planned homecoming party and he had to sit and watch from the stands as the Bulls slumped to a 32-16 defeat.

"It was pretty tough," said Johnson.

"It was one of the games I was really looking forward to. It was just unfortunate that I broke my arm two weeks prior to it.

"Things were going good before I broke the arm and it has been really tough watching the fellas, especially the last couple of weeks when we played Hull and Wigan. The bigger games are very hard to watch."

Now, the fit-again Johnson is itching for chance to get one over his former club.

Johnson started every game prior to his injury - Jamie Peacock is now the only Bull who can lay claim to that feat - but he has not featured since Iestyn Harris joined the club.

Harris's acquisition has seen Leon Pryce shift into Johnson's right centre spot, so he has a fight on his hands to regain his place in the line-up.

Johnson can play in the pack and that versatility should see him at least included on the bench tonight.

The time on the sidelines has gave him the chance to see the game from a new perspective.

"You can see a lot more when you are sat in the stand. You can see where you are going wrong when the coach points it out. When you are playing it can be very hard to see that. I've learned a lot from missing a few games.

"We've been doing the right things for quite a long time but we don't finish it off and stick to it for the full 80 minutes. We drift away for 20 minutes and that's where we lose games."

But Johnson has also seen the boost Harris has given the Bulls' attack and he is looking forward to playing outside him.

"Iestyn is getting fitter and he's getting used to the game again but he is good for us. He throws a nice long ball and he creates space for himself.

"He has added another dimension on attack. He gives the centres a bit more running room. I've not played with him yet but it will be good to get a nice early ball from him and see what I can do."