Wakefield Trinity boss issues Max Jowitt and Tom Johnstone injury updates as key forward set to return
Daryl Powell has provided the injury latest on some key players in his Wakefield Trinity squad.
Powell’s side head to Toulouse this week to take on the French side in a rematch of the opening round of Super League.
Olympique won that game, in what was one of two upset wins by newly-promoted sides that round.
The Trinity boss is hoping to avoid a similar result to that, but knows that Sylvain Houles’ men will be a far from easy task, particularly with their performances on home turf being hard to break down.
It was hoped that Wakefield could have some big names back available for selection, but Powell has revealed that won’t be the case, with only one man of a potential three set to feature.
Isaiah Vagana “will be in the squad,” and has the potential to play according to the Wakefield boss. The back rower has been absent since the Challenge Cup quarter-final defeat to Wigan in mid-April.
Two people who won’t feature this week are Max Jowitt and Tom Johnstone, with the pair still nursing their respective issues.
Like Vagana, Jowitt has missed the last four matches; it will turn into a fifth after it was confirmed he is still a little bit off from where he needs to be.
“I reckon he won’t be far off [the Hull KR game after the Challenge Cup Final]. He’s been a slow burner, Max.
“The tendons can be like that. I would be hopeful that he’d start training next week and then it’d be available. Rourkey [Josh Rourke]’s been going alright, so I’d have a call to make, but he should be available around that time.”
Johnstone, meanwhile, is expected back at a similar time, with the Challenge Cup breaks coming at a good time for both of those injuries. Having missed five games, including this week, the pair could have missed up to seven had they made it to Wembley.
Another man who didn’t play last week was young hooker Harvey Smith, who was simply rested.
The club are trying to manage his load given how young he is, but Powell confirmed he is in contention to return to the side this weekend.
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