Bateman tells Raiders he won't be at club in 2021
English Test star John Bateman has told Canberra he will be on the move in 2021 as he weighs up whether to move to Canterbury or back home to his family and former club Wigan.
Bateman has a three-year offer on the table from the Bulldogs and a four-year deal from his old Super League outfit, with the contracts both understood to be worth around $2 million.
Neither the Bulldogs or Wigan have made any official comment on Bateman's future.
Bateman informed the Raiders on Tuesday that he will exit the club at the end of the season.
A return to the UK looms as the most likely option for the 26-year-old, who is expected to have less than 10 games remaining in Canberra colours due to his ongoing shoulder injury.
With his 10-year-old daughter Millie living in England, along with Bateman’s extended family, the lure of being in the same time zone as his loved ones is understandably drawing him home.
He has been sidelined with a shoulder injury that required a second round of surgery due to complications in his recovery from an operation in February.
Bateman's return date from injury remains unclear, though NRL.com has been told he is still at least another month, if not two, away from a comeback.
If Bateman is out for another eight weeks he will not be back in lime green around mid-August, leaving him with only six regular season games for the Raiders, and any potential finals fixtures, before moving on.
In a statement issued by the club, Bateman thanked the Raiders for the chance to play in the NRL and said he would do everything he could to finish his time with the club in the best way possible.
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