Des Hasler pours water over talk of Trbojevic return

Manly coach Des Hasler says excitement over superstar Tom Trbojevic’s potential early recovery from shoulder surgery might be misplaced, stressing there’s no timeline on the fullback’s return to action.

It follows reports his season isn’t over as was first expected, with Trbojevic said to be well-ahead in his rehabilitation and targeting a return in week two of NRL finals with the intention of pushing on to the World Cup.

Hasler said it showed the 25-year-old’s hunger for the game, but stressed he wasn’t yet in the Sea Eagles’ plans for the rest of the season.

“We haven’t really put any timeframes around the recovery … probably what was outlined was more from a medical perspective so there’s still a fair amount of work to be covered off for that,” he told reporters.

“But it’s good to be optimistic, that’s the sort of kid Tommy is, he just loves his footy and is keen to play footy.

“But I stress, we’ve just got to relax a bit, particularly you journos, there’s really no timeframe.”

Trbojevic has been out of action since round 11 when he dislocated his shoulder diving to save a try against Parramatta, with surgery to mend it expected to keep him out until the beginning of the 2023 campaign.

Asked how he’d feel about Trbojevic heading to the World Cup should he receive the medical team’s all-clear, Hasler said it was impossible to answer.

“It’s difficult to answer that question, there’s no point going on record or saying anything about it,” he said.

“He’s pretty intelligent, pretty pragmatic about it.

“We’ll just take a deep breath and just continue on what we’re doing … there’s such a long way to go, it’s still three months away.”