One of the National Rugby League’s biggest superstars is facing another spell on the sidelines, but his club has not ruled out a return to action before the end of the 2026 season. Manly Sea Eagles co-captain and star fullback Tom Trbojevic – affectionately known to fans as “Turbo” – was forced to exit the field midway through the first half of Sunday’s away clash against the Gold Coast Titans, sidelined by yet another hamstring injury.
Scans completed after the match confirmed the injury is a low-grade strain to Trbojevic’s right hamstring, a far less severe diagnosis than many fans and club officials feared given the 31-year-old’s well-documented history of soft tissue injuries. This latest setback marks Trbojevic’s ninth recorded hamstring injury over the past eight seasons, with five of those injuries affecting his right hamstring and four impacting his left. Earlier this year, a left hamstring strain kept the star out of action for two months following a match against the North Queensland Cowboys, and he only made his return to first-grade football in Round 16.
Following his latest injury, the Manly Sea Eagles released an official statement confirming Trbojevic will definitely miss the club’s upcoming Round 21 home match against the Cronulla Sharks at 4 Pines Park. His condition will not be re-evaluated until after the team’s Round 22 bye, giving the star fullback several additional weeks of rest and rehabilitation to recover from the strain. With current backup fullback Clayton Faulalo already sidelined with his own hamstring injury, reserve player Lehi Hopoate is widely expected to step into the starting fullback role for the coming matches while Trbojevic recovers.
The timing of this injury could not be worse for the Sea Eagles, who currently sit in ninth place on the NRL premiership ladder and are clinging to narrow hopes of scraping into the top eight finals series. Manly has struggled for consistent form in recent weeks, and club insiders and rugby league analysts widely agree that the team’s finals ambitions are heavily dependent on having their marquee playmaker back fit and in form before the end of the regular season. Despite the worrying history of repeated hamstring issues, the Sea Eagles remain optimistic that Trbojevic’s latest minor strain will not end his 2026 campaign prematurely, leaving the door open for a return later in the season if his rehabilitation progresses as planned.