Wakefield Trinity boss Daryl Powell has cleared up the injury to Tom Johnstone and admitted his squad is a ‘bit skinny’ for Friday’s crunch Super League clash with Leeds Rhinos.
Trinity have been forced into a number of changes and that’s seen them name three academy players who are yet to make their senior debut in the 21-man squad. Charlie Abraham has been present in recent weeks but Robbie Brook and Zack Clegg have also been added.
Tom Johnstone is one of those who has dropped out of the squad having missed out last week and Powell has now confirmed that the England international has been suffering with an ankle issue, but should not be a long-term absentee.
“He’s just had a jab in his ankle area that hopefully has settled down,” Powell told media, including Serious About Rugby League.
“He’s had a couple of problems with his knee and his ankle. There’s nothing major, but look, he’s an unbelievable athlete and we need to make sure he’s right. We don’t want to put him out there and then it extends to something that’s more serious.”
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Powell confirmed that full-back Max Jowitt, who is also missing from the 21-man squad and has missed out in recent weeks, has a similar problem in regards the club wanting to protect him from further injury.
The Trinity boss said: “It’s the same with Max, really. Max has got a bit of an Achilles problem that’s causing him trouble and he’s proving difficult to clear up at the moment. There’s no hoodwinking or anything, we’ve just got a couple of boys who have niggly bits at the moment that are keeping them out.”
That pair, alongside Seth Nikotemo (HIA), should be back after the Challenge Cup break with Powell explaining: “Unfortunately, we’ve got a couple of real tough games on the spin and couple of our real high-quality players are missing, but that’s the season.”
As for who could play in his halves this week given the fact Mason Lino has returned from another of the aforementioned niggly injuries, Powell confirmed a decision has already been made.
“That’s a call I’ve already made that I’m not going to make public. Jack’s been playing pretty well for us, Mason’s had a couple of little bits injury-wise but we’ve had a good week of training.
“We’ve got to get it exactly right this week from a team perspective with what we’ve got available. We’re a little bit skinny this week, there’s a few young boys in the squad there, so that’s reflective of where we’re at from a fitness point of view.”
Leeds Rhinos are expected to name the same 17 for the fifth week in a row at Headingley on Friday night and the Wakefield boss is more than aware of the fact that Trinity are up against ti.
“There’s potential for a couple,” he said regarding changes, adding: “We’ve got a few players missing this week, so it’s a tough challenge against a team that’s got everybody fit and they’re the team of the comp at the moment, so we know what we’ve got to do.”
