EXCITING back Lee Haney has ended his four-month retirement from rugby by signing a new deal with Barrow Raiders.

The 27-year-old called time on his playing career in June – citing injuries, work and family commitments – but has been unable to resist the lure of a quick return.

Haney suffered shoulder, hamstring and concussion issues when playing for Barrow this year and made only seven appearances – scoring four tries – when he called it a day.

In total he has 27 Barrow starts to his name, mostly made in the 2012 and 2013 campaigns, and joint-Raiders director of rugby Mike Sunderland sees him as a strong recruit for Paul Crarey’s League One squad next season who could not sit on the sidelines.

“I think he just missed it,” said Sunderland of the former Barrow Island RL and Furness RU man. “He missed the craic, the games, he misses that excitement in his life and the buzz he gets from playing.

“He’s an exciting player, he’s got pace, he’s a little bit unpredictable at times, but a fantastic guy to have in the squad.

“He has come back fully committed. He’s not coming back just on a whim – he’s thought long and hard about it and we have talked at length with him. He’s very happy to come back and we’re happy to have him back.”

He added: “I’ve known Lee for a few years and I really believe he brings that element of surprise to the team.”

Haney is the first winger to sign a deal with Barrow for 2016, though he can also play at full-back, a position which looks to have been shored up by the recruitment of Ryan Fieldhouse from Dewsbury at the end of last week.

His signing takes the total number of players to have penned new deals with Raiders to nine, following new faces Fieldhouse and Oliver Wilkes and the returning Joe Bullock, Adam Nicholson, Anthony Bate, Liam Campbell, Andy Dawson and Andy Litherland.

Nathan Mossop, Joe Ward and Brad Marwood are on the second year of two-year deals and the club have confirmed they will all remain at Craven Park as well.

The Barrow coaching staff are looking forward to welcoming Haney back into that squad, with assistant boss Steve Rea recognising the benefit of bringing in a player with established knowledge of how Barrow operate.

“It’s good for everyone,” he said. “He’s a tough kid and he knows all our systems from last year, so it’s great to have him back.

“He decided to stop playing on medical grounds, but the scans have all come back saying he can’t do any more damage and he’s willing to give it another go.

“He definitely has a lot to offer – he will be great for us.”