Manly‘s pursuit of a top-four berth has been rattled by superstar fullback Tom Trbojevic being ruled out of tomorrow night’s clash with Canberra due to his facial injury.
Trbojevic’s availability had been shrouded in doubt ever since he collided with teammate Jason Saab during Manly’s 56-10 belting of Parramatta on Saturday.
While it originally had Manly thinking the Dally M Medal favourite had fractured his cheekbone, that fear has since been allayed.
However, Trbojevic has nonetheless been ruled out of the Raiders clash in Brisbane, in which a win will see the Sea Eagles move into the top four if the Roosters lose to the Dragons.
“He was determined to take the field and said on Monday to Nine News Sydney he didn’t see any reason not to play,” Nine’s Danny Weidler tweeted.
“Manly insist he is just out for one week and say there is no fracture in his cheekbone.”
Adding to the significance of Trbojevic’s injury is the fact he had done damage to the same area of his face in the past.
Manly’s decision to rest Trbojevic follows a blunt reply from coach Des Hasler in today’s media conference.
“I’m not a facial surgeon,” Hasler said when prodded on Trbojevic’s injury.
The Sea Eagles are locked in a three-way battle with the Roosters and Eels for fourth on the ladder.
That’s despite the fact they lost their first four games of the season.
Manly are set to meet Canberra, Canterbury and North Queensland in their remaining regular-season games.
The Sea Eagles lost to the Raiders 30-16 in Brookvale when State of Origin duty had Trbojevic sidelined in Round 17.
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