American rehab guru says Latrell Mitchell is such a talented athlete he could make it in the NFL

The American rehab guru who recently worked on Latrell Mitchell’s troublesome hamstrings firmly believes the Rabbitohs fullback could play in the NFL.

Bill Knowles, who has worked with the likes of Tiger Woods, baseball star Alex Rodriguez, legendary NFL quarterback Peyton Manning and decorated English rugby five-eighth Jonny Wilkinson, stressed to Mitchell it was all about ‘pulling the athlete out of his injury’.

Mitchell, 24, spent two weeks in Philadelphia and Knowles was blown away by the NRL star’s natural ability. 

‘We saw an athlete who is incredibly powerful, incredibly gifted,’ Knowles said.

‘I told him just be Latrell the athlete, the kid who can change direction, jump, throw things, catch things and move around.’

Knowles observed an element of self doubt at times, with Mitchell left wondering if he was still an elite athlete.

The American rehab guru who recently worked on Latrell Mitchell’s troublesome hamstrings firmly believes the Rabbitohs fullback (pictured) could play in the NFL

Mitchell, 24, spent two weeks in Philadelphia and Bill Knowles was blown away by the NRL star’s natural athleticism

Mitchell, who won premierships with the Roosters in 2018 and 2019, soon flicked the switch, telling himself  ‘Yes, I am. I’m still an athlete, I’ve got this.’

When Mitchell tore the tendon in his hamstring against the Dragons in round five, the club knew they needed a definitive answer as to why their best player kept breaking down.

Enter Knowles.

He adopted a holistic approach in the US, or in his words a ‘lower extremity’ or ‘movement disorder’ when it came to Mitchell’s hamstrings.

‘In Latrell’s case, the hamstring is not a solo, it’s in a symphony,’ he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

‘This is why you pull their athlete out of their injury. If you focus on the solo player, you forget about the quality of the whole symphony.’

Knowles added it was crucial that the ‘orchestra is going really well’ because ‘when the hamstring is less loaded, it decreases the risk of re-injury.’

Mitchell’s social media provided his followers with an insight into what type of training he was doing in Philadelphia.

Knowles adopted a holistic approach, or in his words a ‘lower extremity’ or ‘movement disorder’ when it came to Mitchell’s hamstrings

At one stage, Knowles observed an element of self doubt, with Mitchell left wondering if he was still an elite athlete

A series of games, drills and exercises to study his movement patterns and detect any areas of concerns were all implemented.

Examples included catching balls with both hands or spinning two hula hoops on the end of a bar while balancing one-legged on a Bosu ball.

Mitchell bought into the training, but also saw the funny side, labelling himself a ‘circus freak’.

Focus was placed on movement to enhance acceleration, deceleration and change of direction, because that is what makes Mitchell an elite NRL player.

Mitchell returned home on Thursday, and is eyeing off a return to the representative arena with the NSW Blues in game two of the Origin series on June 26

During the intense training, Knowles formed the belief that Mitchell’s strength ‘comes from within’, a trait only world class athletes have.

If left Knowles with no doubt Mitchell could have been an NFL star or even a professional ice hockey player.  

He also labelled the South Sydney fan favourite a ‘total professional’ and a ‘student of the process’ who is a ‘very special’ athlete.

And while no rehab experts can ever guarantee athletes will be injury free, Knowles added Mitchell returned home this week armed with an understanding of what the process is in terms of recovery.