Wakefield Trinity’s long-serving former NRL centre Bill Tupou has hit a bump on the comeback road.
But Trinity coach Willie Poching hopes it won’t be long before the 32-year-old former New Zealand Warriors and Canberra Raiders player is pushing for selection.
Tupou suffered a season-ending knee injury last June.
The Auckland-born player, who is a Tongan international, ruptured a patella tendon during Wakefield’s 18-12 home defeat by Castleford.
The 2018 Dream Team member had a clean-up operation earlier this year and played for the Reserves in their 26-22 win over Hull at the Be Well Support Stadium ten days ago.
But he took a knock to the knee, and suffered a reaction, ruling him out of contention for the home Super League clash with Hull FC.
Warrington visit Wakefield on Sunday but Tupou could have to wait until after the following international break to feature.
“He trained really well leading up to the reserve game and he’s one of the guys who it was really important for,” said Poching.
“We were excited to see Bill out there. We could see the glimpses of his class in training and he got through the game but had a bit of a reaction to the knock.
“It’s not too bad. We’ll see how he pulls up in the next week or two. We won’t rush him. He’s been out for almost a year, so he’s got to build some muscle memory, some skill and get his confidence back up.”
Tupou was signed in July 2015 and, until his injury, had represented Trinity 125 times, scoring 40 tries.
Meanwhile winger Tom Johnstone remains sidelined by a groin problem.
With only six points from 13 games ahead of the Hull clash, Wakefield are desperate for wins in their bid to climb away from the danger zone.
Poching added: “We’re in a position where we’re in control. We’ve got to look forward to the challenges we have ahead of us.”
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