Wakefield Trinity star's return confirmed but boss expects Leeds Rhinos ace to miss Challenge Cup derby
England winger Tom Johnstone will return for Wakefield Trinity tomorrow, but coach Daryl Powell expects opponents Leeds Rhinos to be without star stand-off Brodie Croft.
Johnstone has been sidelined since suffering a knee injury in pre-season training, but is in Trinity’s initial squad and Powell confirmed: “Tom will play.” Speaking at his weekly preview press conference today (Thursday), Powell said: “He is back, he has been building up towards this for the last few weeks.
“He had a minor op three and a half-four weeks ago and is ready to go. He is an international-quality player and it is good to have him in and around the squad. This is a big game for us, so it’s great to have him back.”
Powell added: “I am looking forward to seeing him play. You want your better players out there on the field. We still have a couple of people missing, but those guys are not too far away so we are looking pretty good at the moment.”
Trinity remain without Mason Lino who has a hamstring injury. Powell explained: “It is a re-injury, a slightly different site, but same leg. It looked like he’d be okay, but something else has cropped up there. We’ve got two half-backs who are playing pretty well and we’ll get Mason right before he comes back in. I don’t think it’s a long one.”
Hooker Tyson Smoothy is going through the sport’s concussion protocol and will miss a second successive game, but Powell expects him to be available for next Friday’s visit of Leigh Leopards.
Though Croft has been named in Rhinos’ 21 after missing last Sunday’s win against Castleford Tigers with a hamstring problem, Powell is sceptical about his chances of playing. Teenager George Brown replaced Croft at stand-off last weekend and Powell insisted: “We are ready for both eventualities, but I am pretty confident Croft won’t play. If he does, he does, but I am expecting Brown to play.”