England defeated Tonga in the opening test thanks to tries from Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves centre Toby King, Hull KR halfback Mikey Lewis and a brace of tries from winger Tom Johnstone.
When Shaun Wane named his original 24 man squad, it was unclear if Johnstone, one of Super League’s in form wingers in 2023, would get the nod.
This is because veteran Tommy Makinson was named after featuring at last year’s World Cup as well Dom Young who also starred at last year’s World Cup scoring tries for fun throughout the tournament ahead of a career best season in the NRL.
But he would miss the opening game due to a sinus infection which has now spread into the brain as confirmed by his agent.
His agent has also stated that he had now missed his opportunity to play for England this winter and it has been reported by Fox League in Australia that he has now been ruled out of the rest of the series.
“Dom is going really well, he’s feeling a lot better and will be ready to go for the Roosters,” agent Michael Cincotta said.
He told WWOS: “It was pretty frightening because he was getting severe headaches and got so bad that he couldn’t stand any sort of bright light.
“It pushed his condition over the edge and he wasn’t good.
“They put him in hospital and traced it back to a sinus infection that spread throughout his head.
“But he is past the worst of it now thanks to antibiotics and the good care he is getting in hospital.
“He is not 100 per cent over it yet – it was pretty severe – but he is on the mend and after a bit of a break he will be right to rejoin the Roosters.
“But it is a blow as he was really looking forward to playing for England against Tonga – he will have to wait for his next chance now.”
When Young returns to Australia he will be joined by his brother Alex and the duo are headed to Sydney Roosters after Young’s successful time at Newcastle Knights.
