Wakefield Trinity head coach Daryl Powell has confirmed that star man Tom Johnstone has undergone a minor operation with the winger set to be sidelined for a few weeks.
Johnstone played through the pain to feature for England in the Ashes with the winger requiring surgery after the series on a hernia, something he rehabbed over pre-season with Powell claiming that the 30-year-old was ‘flying’.
However, a slight tear was discovered in the winger’s knee cartilage, with Trinity ultimately opting for the Englishman to go under the knife as opposed to have him through the pain again.
Speaking to BBC Radio Leeds ahead of the club’s Super League opener against Toulouse Olympique, Powell confirmed the reason behind Johnstone’s omission from the 21-man squad.
He explained: “Tom (Johnstone) was flying actually and then his knee, he’s got a slight tear in his cartilage that we were wondering do we try and push him through it or do we just get it done?
“He had a jab in there which didn’t work and then we decided to just get it done, so he’s had a minor operation on it.
“He’s probably two or three weeks, he’s not too far away.”
Read the Serious About Rugby League team’s season-long predictions, including Super League Grand Final winner, here.
Wakefield Trinity pair set for round two return
Johnstone was among three high-profile names who were not named in that 21-man squad with outside back Oliver Pratt and prop Ky Rodwell the other two, however, they’re in line for a round two return.
On the pair, Powell said: “Pratty (Oliver Pratt) slipped in training a couple of weeks back and got a really bad dead leg. We scanned him and he’s okay but it just swelled up straight away, but it was just a pure accident in training.
“Ky Rodwell had an operation and both those two will be available for next week so they’re not long termers.”
On his squad, Daryl Powell explained that two of the club’s forwards have seen their partners in the late stages of pregnancy recently with signing Tray Lolesio’s child being born, and Isaiah Vagana still awaiting the birth of his.
That could lead to a scenario similar to what happened to Matty Lees in 2025 when the St Helens man had to be subbed at half-time as his partner went into labour.
Powell said: “Tray (Lolesio) and Isaiah (Vagana) have both been expecting babies. Tray’s baby has come, Isaiah’s hasn’t yet so it’s one of those.
“I was talking to Isaiah about it last week saying how I’ve seen pretty much everything so nothing is going to surprise me.
“He’s trained today and we’re all good and ready to go. We’ll wait and see and be flexible around it, let’s just see what happens.”
As for how that could affect selection, Powell said: “There are plenty of players putting their hand up to play and a lot of players have had great pre-seasons. I think it’s an outstanding squad and I’m just looking forward to getting out there now and playing.”
The BIG Super League preview with every team covered and predictions made – Click here to watch the latest episode of The Serious About Rugby League Show
