Olivier Elima is a man in a hurry. After four months on the sidelines, he cannot wait to pull on a Bulls jersey again.

The popular second-rower and France captain has yet to feature this season following a knee clear-out in December.

“But I’m raring to go now and fit to play against St Helens this weekend,” said Elima.

“I played for France at the end of last season and then felt a bit of pain in my right knee when I started training back at Bradford.

“On December 21 I had the operation to clear it out and my rehab’ has gone really well. The staff have been great too, taking it easy and not rushing me.

“With the boys’ outstanding away form, there hasn’t been too much pressure to come back too early. Now I’m fully fit, I’m looking forward to getting back out there.”

Elima, 28, is set to make his comeback off the bench on Saturday and has more reasons than one to get back playing.

Like a number of his Bradford team-mates, Elima is out of contract at the end of the year and is effectively playing for his future.

His quality is not in doubt – and nor is his desire to re-establish himself in Mick Potter’s side.

Elima explained: “I’ll probably have a number of options but I need to just focus on my rugby first and get back out there before I think of anything else. I’ve been injured for that long it takes your mind off things.

“The first thing I need to do is to start playing well again, then we can begin talking about things like new contracts. If I want to earn another deal, I need to be seen to be playing well, especially by Bradford.

“Am I up for staying at the Bulls? Yes, definitely. I love it here and it’s a great club.”

Elima has followed the fortunes of Potter’s men from the sidelines during pre-season and in the first six rounds of Super League.

He has seen plenty of encouraging signs and admits he would love to mark his return with a tumultuous win over St Helens.

Royce Simmons’ men have faltered badly in recent weeks and a Bulls victory on Saturday would condemn them to a fourth straight defeat.

Elima said: “Saints have got a few injuries and we’re going into Saturday’s game in good form. We played well against Warrington and then had a good win last week at Hull KR.

“We showed a lot of mental strength by coming back from so many points behind to win. We’re feeling very positive and we really need a home win.

“I think we owe St Helens after they nicked a point from us late on last season. This time we will be looking for the two points and making sure there is no chance of a last-minute comeback.”