Manly believe Tom Trbojevic’s latest injury won’t impact his football come the NRL finals, as the superstar fullback awaits crucial scans on his shoulder.
Trbojevic cut a frustrated figure as he walked off Accor Stadium on Friday night, after damaging his shoulder late in the Sea Eagles’ 34-22 win over Canterbury.
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Already battling a cork to his leg, Trbojevic had his arm outstretched trying to tackle Jacob Preston in the 64th minute, before teammate Luke Brooks landed on him.
Manly were confident afterwards the injury was confined to the AC joint, and Trbojevic would be able to play in the finals with pain-killing injections.
The 27-year-old will undergo scans on Saturday, which Manly hope will show no immediate surgery is required and he will only need to sit out one week against Cronulla.
Trbojevic has been playing his best football since his Dally M year of 2021, scoring 10 tries and setting up 11 in his past seven games.
Equally impressive has been the way he has attacked the line with confidence, playing his most physical football in years.
And coach Anthony Seibold was insistent the injury would not restrict his No.1’s confidence.
“It’s an AC joint injury, and with pain management you can needle them up and play, which I am sure he will do,” Seibold said.
“He will definitely miss next week from what I understand. He will get an X-ray or scan.
“We’ll put a plan together for him and make sure we look after him. And all going well he will be right to go again.
“The good thing is those types of injuries aren’t season-ending. There is some pain there, and he will be a bit sore and sorry for the next few days.
“But he will be right to go for week one.”
Adding to Manly’s concern is a syndesmosis injury for Jason Saab, who Manly fear could face a lengthy stint on the sidelines.
The Sea Eagles have Tolu Koula or Lehi Hopoate to slot in at fullback against Cronulla next Sunday, while Clayton Faulalo or Ben Trbojevic could also come into the backline.
The other concern for Manly is Luke Brooks.
The five-eighth played with supreme confidence against the Bulldogs, setting up two tries and forcing a one-on-one strip in the lead up to another.
But he was placed on report for a dangerous throw in the second half, and would face a two-game ban with an early play if handed a grade-two charge.
That would have him miss week one of the playoffs, and add to the playmaker’s 11-year wait to play anything beyond the regular season.
“He’s playing good footy, there is no doubt about that,” halfback Daly Cherry-Evans said of Brooks.
“It’s great to see him grow in confidence. I think it’s only natural when you go to a new club it takes you a while to find your feet.
“He didn’t take long, but as the year has gone on he has felt more and more comfortable. He is just taking games on.
“He gets to play finals footy this year, and I am really happy about that.”
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