On the same day Trbojevic left Sydney for an intense two-week visit to Philadelphia-based Bill Knowles,Penn said he’d be comfortable if new coach Anthony Seibold and his medical staff felt the need to hold Trbojevic back from the Sea Eagles’ opening-round game against the Bulldogs.
Manly superstar Tom Trbojevic departed for the United States to see a world-renowned injury specialist about his troublesome hamstring.
And he was buoyant about the prospects of Trbojevic following a similar path to Mitchell,who returned from his mid-season visit with Knowles last year in career-best form.
“Now it’s his fifth injury,it’s all about confidence,” Penn said. “We have to manage it best we can,and we know a confident Turbo is the best player in the world. This is about giving him confidence.
“He’s a physical specimen and the[James] Tedescos of the world have shown you can have terrible injuries early on,but he’s managed it. Tom is a fierce competitor,and he doesn’t leave anything on the sideline. He just gives it his all.
“We want him in the game for another 10 years hopefully,and therefore he’s going to have to manage his body.”
Tom Trbojevic flew out to the US to receive specialist help recovering from a hamstring injury.NRL Photos
Trbojevic still hopes to return to the field in the opening round of the NRL season and has already spoken to Knowles,who is also working with Melbourne Storm ace Ryan Papenhuyzen,on a Zoom call ahead of his flight on Saturday. He’s approaching his time in the US with an open mind.
“He’s one of the experts in this field;I’ve got a lot of confidence,” Trbojevic said. “You hope to get a lot out of it,so you can come back,be confident in yourself and your body,that you’re doing everything you can to stay on the park and play good footy.”
Latrell Mitchell in the US last year doing reconditioning work with Bill Knowles.Instagram
Manly said Trbojevic,the 2021 Dally M Medal winner,would be sidelined for two months after tearing his hamstring during pre-season training in December,which came on the back of shoulder surgery that limited him to just seven NRL games in 2022. He also missed NSW’s State of Origin series loss.
The 26-year-old said he was frustrated by the latest setback.
“I was obviously a little bit down,” he said. “It wasn’t what you wanted – I was really enjoying training back in pre-season. Wasn’t good,but I’ve moved on from that,and now I’m in the process of getting myself right and getting back to playing footy.
“Being down’s only going to get you so far.”
Trbojevic said he’d shared texts with Mitchell,whose was documented by the Rabbitohs last year.
After his time with Mitchell the rehabilitation expert told theHeraldthat he took a holistic approach and tried to “pull the athlete out of their injury”.
Asked whether he would be comfortable for Trbojevic to miss the start of the season to preserve Manly’s long-term hopes this season,Penn said:“Of course. We need him for the season.
“But he’s a fierce competitor and you can’t hold these guys back. If he’s right then he’ll play,but it will be up to the coaching staff and medical staff to manage him. Knowing Tom,he’ll want to play.
“He was doing unbelievably well at training and winning all the challenges,then this happens. Fortunately,I understand it’s on the lower grade of tears,but the reality is we don’t want it to be any worse.”
Trbojevic said he was aiming to play round one in March and expected to incorporate Knowles’ advice into his long-term training regime.
“I think a lot of it’s to do with reconditioning your body and rewiring it to move better,to put less stress on your[hamstrings] and other areas of your body.
“I think in the short term,it’s about definitely moving better but hopefully that has a long-term effect and can show in the park for however long.”
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