‘Ticking time bomb’: Concerning update on Tom Trbojevic after being named to start against Canberra

Tom Trbojevic has been named to play against Canberra on Sunday but Anthony Seibold has hinted he may not actually line up.

Manly coach Anthony Seibold has confirmed star fullback Tom Trbojevic is far from a certain starter ahead of this weekend’s clash with the Raiders.

Trbojevic left the field suddenly with 13 minutes remaining in Friday night’s shock defeat to the Warriors, heading straight up the tunnel.

It was reported that the Sea Eagles star was feeling hamstring “tightness” and took himself off simply as a precaution.

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And in what appeared to be confirmation it was nothing more than that, the 28-year-old was named to start this weekend when the team lists were released on Tuesday afternoon.

However, Seibold told SEN on Wednesday morning that he actually may not be right to go by Sunday.

“We named him yesterday, we’re optimistic,’’ Seibold told SEN on Wednesday.

“But I think Turbo (Trbojevic) will definitely have to do a fitness test at the back end of the week. We’ll be cautious with Turbo as well.

Tom Trbojevic is in doubt for this weekend. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

“The good news is that nothing showed up on the scan. It is just general tightness, but obviously, with a little bit of a history there, we need to make sure that we get him right before we put him back on the field.

“Turbo works really hard and as I said, we’re optimistic, but we’re probably still 50-50 with Turbo.

“He’s done all his drilling yesterday and this morning and when I say drilling, that’s all your running-type drills on the field and inside the gym.

“There’s no strain there, so if he doesn’t play this week, he’ll be available for the following week.

“And the only reason why he wouldn’t play this week is because we’re trying to make sure that we take away any of that tightness or soreness.’’

Tom Trbojevic has a history of hamstring injuries. Credit: NRL Images.

Trbojevic has battled hamstring problems throughout his career.

Last year he suffered a mid-season hamstring injury and Manly will likely err on the side of caution with his fitness.

But while Seibold suggested Trbojevic escaped with little more than an injury scare, ‘NRL Physio’ Brien Seeney wasn’t so positive about his prospects in 2025, labelling the star fullback’s hamstring a “ticking time bomb”.

“I wouldn’t care if it’s a tickle, it’s a big deal,” Seeney said on The Magic Sponge podcast about Trbojevic’s hamstring.

“Because the big thing about any awareness in or around the hamstring area is it is the biggest indicator for future soft tissue strain risk … I think Manly would be crazy to play him personally. Even if it is just awareness, a tickle, I just can’t see how you’d play him next week.

“ … I think Tom Trbojevic you could say is a ticking time bomb at this point in time.”