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Former Toronto Wolfpack forward Jack Bussey, right, carries the ball during rugby action against the Salford Red Devils in Salford, England, on April 23, 2017.Stephen Gaunt/The Canadian Press

Jack Bussey, suspended last season for biting while playing for the Toronto Wolfpack, has rejoined Featherstone Rovers.

Bussey started his rugby-league career with Featherstone, joining the Wolfpack for its inaugural 2017 season after a stint with London Broncos.

“There was interest from other clubs, but I didn’t really want to go anywhere else,” Bussey was quoted as saying on the Featherstone website. “In a way, it’s like I’m coming home.”

Featherstone finished fifth in the second-tier Betfred Championship last season. Toronto topped the division, but missed out on promotion to the elite Super League after losing what’s known as the “Million Pound Game” 4-2 to London.

Bussey still has seven games of his ban to serve.

The 26-year-old English forward was sent home by the Wolfpack after the biting incident in a Sept. 15 playoff game with visiting Toulouse. He was subsequently banned for 10 games – eight for biting and two for a high tackle – by the Rugby Football League.

“It’s well-documented, with regard to myself and what happened at the end of last year,” Bussey said. “It’s not something I’m proud of. It was a heat-of-the moment thing and something I won’t repeat.

“I believe I’m in a much better atmosphere now and I’m enjoying being back here [in England] training. I’ve gone from not seeing my family for months while living out of a hotel to now where I see my family nearly every day. I feel a lot better in myself now, knowing that I’ve got people around me, rather than having to wait until there’s a convenient time to FaceTime them. That was hard.”

Bussey beat cancer while with the Wolfpack, undergoing surgery after doctors found a lump on his thyroid. He had surgery in May, 2017, in his English hometown of Leeds.

He returned to the field in June, 2017, scoring a try in Toronto’s 66-0 away win over the South Wales Ironmen. Amazingly, he missed just four games.

The 5-foot-11, 234-pounder wears a nine-centimetre scar on his neck as a reminder of his close call.

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