Seibold and Cherry-Evans remaining optimistic on Trbojevic's chances to return from shoulder injury

Tom Trobjevic has once again sent the Manly Sea Eagles into a state of panic as he left the field with a shoulder injury in his side’s 34-22 win over the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs on Friday night.

The former Dally M Medallist departed the game in the 64th minute, clutching at his arm as blood poured from his head due to a previous knock.

With just two weeks to go until the 2024 Finals Series starts, Sea Eagles fans, understandably have their hearts in their mouths as they await official confirmation on the severity of the injury.

Along with the Trbojevic injury concern, Manly could also be without star winger Jason Saab as he succumbed to an ankle complaint during the game.

Despite the concern, Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans revealed the club is optimistic that the injury isn’t too serious for the star fullback.

“It’s not ideal, you hate seeing your teammates go down,” Cherry-Evans said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.

“Saaby has obviously scored some amazing tries for us this year and has really settled into first grade, Turbo, I don’t even have to elaborate on what he means to us.

“It sucks, it’s not ideal, (for) Saaby with those ankle ones you never really know, could be good, could be bad.

“The physios seem really confident on Tom though, that it’s not going to be too bad.

“That’s great news, not ideal but it’s not the worst news we’ve had with Tom before.”

Cherry-Evans' comments echo those of his coach Anthony Seibold, who remained confident in Trbojevic’s availability for Manly’s finals campaign starting in two week’s time.

“It’s an AC joint, so he will definitely miss next week from what I understand,” Seibold said post-game.

“He will get an X-ray. He will be right for week one of the finals. There is something there that can take the pain away.

“We’ll put a plan together for him and make sure we look after him. All going well, he will be right to go again.

“He copped a cork to his shin earlier and was hobbling around. Then he copped a split to his head and hurt his AC at the same time. He’s in the wars a bit tonight.

“The good thing is those types of injuries aren’t season-ending.

“There is some pain there, and he will be a bit sore and sorry for the next few weeks. But he will be right to go for week one.”

Manly round out their 2024 regular season against the Cronulla Sharks next Sunday afternoon where a win would all but secure a 5th place finish.