Wigan Warriors hand Gareth Hock five-year contract
- Published
Hock is expected to play against Huddersfield on 24 June
Wigan have handed a new five-year contract to England forward Gareth Hock, who is to resume playing in June after serving a drugs ban.
Suspended for nearly two years after testing positive for cocaine, the 27-year-old was recently given permission by UK Anti-Doping to resume training.
Wigan chairman Ian Lenagan said: "The deal is contingent upon his continuing exemplary performance.
"We are all looking forward to seeing him again next month in a Wigan shirt."
Hock failed a test for Benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, after Wigan's win over Salford on 5 June 2009 and his last match was for England against France in Paris a week later.
He has been back in training for just over a month and is set to make the transition from second row to prop when he makes his comeback, which is expected to be in the Super League match against Huddersfield at the DW Stadium on 24 June.
Hock's new deal takes him to the end of the 2015 season.