It's been nearly two years of pain and hard work, but Chris Walker hasn't once thought about walking away from rugby league.

Walker has been named for the Gold Coast to play in Friday's clash with the Bulldogs, his first NRL game since round 24, 2007 after two operations on ruptured Achilles tendons within five months.

Walker said his emotions almost got the better of him when coach John Cartwright pulled him aside at training on Tuesday to deliver the news.

"I was tempted to give him a big hug and give him some man love - it was great to have that feeling come back into my emotions," Walker told AAP.

"I've been working towards it for the last 20 months and all the hard work has paid off, but there's a lot more hard work to come.

"There was never, ever a point during my injury time that I thought I'd walk away from the game.

"Hanging up the boots was never an option ... I always knew I could fight back."

The mountain Walker has climbed to get back on the field is matched by the changes he has made in his life off it.

The Titans initially overlooked the 29-year-old's colourful off-field history to sign him in 2007 but his time at the club has been interrupted by injury and drama.

He broke his thumb after scoring two tries in the club's debut and only managed four more appearances in 2007 as he battled injury and off-field issues with alcoholism and an anxiety disorder.

He then snapped his Achilles on the first day of pre-season training in November 2007.

And just as he was edging close to a return in March 2008, he ruptured the tendon for a second time while riding a bike during rehabilitation, leading to fears his career could be over.

The Titans were prepared to cut all ties with Walker until he showed tremendous commitment off the field, shedding his bad boy image to become a finalist in the NRL's Ken Stephen Medal for charity work.

The award was won by fellow Titan Preston Campbell, but more importantly, Walker won over his coach and teammates with his attitude.

"To be a finalist in the medal was a huge honour for me," he said.

"I was unlucky to miss the entire 2008 season and I made it a personal goal to spend a lot of my spare time with charities and that's what I did."

Cartwright praised Walker, who is now engaged and has a young daughter, for turning his life around.

"He deserves his chance," said Cartwright.

"He's obviously had his dark moments through it all and he's had a lot of other issues to deal with as well but I suppose that makes it all the sweeter when you get the call up.

"It's a great story, regardless of coming back from his injuries - something a lot of guys wouldn't get over."

Mat Rogers said the players were thrilled Walker was back in first grade after so many setbacks.

"It's been a pretty long road back for him, but he's always had the talent," said Rogers.

"It's a real credit to him to be honest, we're all rapt to have him on board.

"Two ruptured Achilles tendons is pretty full-on and he had some personal stuff to deal with.

"I think it'll be a pretty special moment for him when he runs out there.

"He can put those last couple of years behind him and focus on what he does best, and that's playing footy."

Meanwhile, Gold Coast captain Scott Prince will be given until match day to prove his fitness for Friday's NRL clash with the Bulldogs.

Prince missed the Titans training session on Tuesday after straining his hamstring at training on Monday and the club is now waiting for the result of scans on the champion halfback.

Coach Cartwright said Prince would be named in his squad later on Tuesday, with fullback Preston Campbell on standby to play first receiver should the Queensland Origin star fail to recover in time.

"He (Prince) will be named in the side and we'll give him up to kickoff to prove his fitness," said Cartwright.

The coach said he's been a bit reluctant to move Campbell to halfback because he's been doing such a good job at fullback, but new recruit William Zillman has been outstanding off the bench this year and was ready to play a full game at fullback.

"We've got young Zillman there and he's ready to play 80 minutes, and it's a good opportunity for Preston, I think he's looking forward to it," he said.

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