‘Why on earth?’ Questions asked as Tom Trbojevic plays through injury scare

Journalists and fans alike have raised questions after Manly’s injury-prone superstar Tom Trbojevic played on despite a fresh concern.

Tough night at the office. Photo: NRL PHOTOS

The Manly Sea Eagles were crushed 44-12 by the Penrith Panthers on Saturday but questions have been raised over why Tom Trbojevic stayed on the field after suffering back spasms in the first half.

The Sea Eagles appeared not to have got off the bus in Penrith, blown away 32-0 at halftime.

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In a performance very unlike himself, Trbojevic was restricted to just 11 runs for 98 metres for the match, after five runs for 20m by halftime.

At the break, fans were alarmed when Trbojevic was taken off by the trainers into a side room.

Post-match, Manly coach Anthony Seibold revealed Trbojevic was suffering spasms.

“It was actually his back, his lower back,” he said.

“He was having a few spasms so he had a needle at halftime. Just speaking to him then, he was fine in the second half, just had some spasms at halftime.

“I’m not sure how that occurred or why, but it certainly wasn’t his hammy. In there he was just a little bit sore but he’s fine.

“I wasn’t aware of it until halftime. He’s had a little spasm there in the first half but he was able to play through the game. He was disappointed in his individual performance tonight but he wasn’t on his own.”

Tom Trbojevic was not himself. Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images

But for Trbojevic, who has missed plenty of time due to injury, Seibold was questioned as to whether he should have put his $1m+ star in cotton wool.

“We wanted to fight hard,” he said. “The medical staff didn’t see any real issue.

“If he was in danger of hurting himself any further then certainly we would have looked after him. But there was no medical advice to bring him off the field.”

AAP’s Scott Bailey questioned the wisdom, particularly after the game was as good as gone by halftime.

Trbojevic has definitely been struggling with an injury around his left hip. Vision appears to show him being strapped up at half time,” he tweeted.

“Why on earth would you send the NRL’s most valuable player back out there at 32-0 down and nothing to gain?”

But Sea Eagles skipper Daly Cherry-Evans defended the decision, saying Trbojevic didn’t want to let his team down.

“Tom’s a competitor, he’s always going to push through,” Cherry-Evans said.

“He’s not going to come off unless he’s done. He’s a competitor and while he might have been a little off which what’s going on tonight, it doesn’t sound like it’s serious so he’ll have a week to get it right.”

Post-match, Trbojevic said he hadn’t had spasms before but was feeling better.

“I was a bit confused. But it’s alright. There is nothing to worry about,” Trbojevic said.

“A lot of people play through a lot of things in the game. It’s not the reason I didn’t play well today or we didn’t perform very well.

“So I don’t think we need to talk about it too much.”

Originally published as ‘Why on earth?’ Questions asked as Tom Trbojevic plays through injury scare