LeagueNews.co | Cooper McEnroe
Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold has indicated that Tom Trbojevic's position as fullback is uncertain, as Lehi Hopoate is anticipated to return from an AC joint injury. Hopoate has been sidelined for the upcoming game against the league-leading Raiders due to injuries sustained from a collision with Roosters fullback James Tedesco.
Hopoate has been unable to participate in contact drills for two weeks while recovering from these injuries. Seibold commented on Hopoate's condition, saying, "Hopefully only this week," when asked about the timeline for his return.
Seibold explained, "He hasn't been able to do contact at training for some time with his AC, and then he copped another bang on his head when Tedesco went through and there was an accidental collision." The coach noted that Hopoate had undergone multiple head injury assessments recently, adding, "He's pretty banged up with the AC joint, so the best thing for us on another short turnaround was to try to let that settle."
For Hopoate to perform at his best, Seibold emphasized the need for him to engage in full-contact training. Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to achieve this: "We made a medical decision around that, and hopefully he'll be all right (next week) because we have a longer turnaround."