Sydney Roosters' half Sam Walker's return date is still yet to be set in stone.
The Roosters have expected Sam Walker back on the park countless times during his recovery from a moderate ACL sprain, which was suffered after his original axing from the first-grade set-up in Round 8.
The young half, who would likely have come straight back into first grade following his recovery, was due back as long ago as directly following the Roosters' second bye of the season in Round 13, but he remains sidelined.
While coach Trent Robinson has detailed setbacks in his "stop-start" recovery, the Roosters as shortly as a fortnight ago said in their weekly medical update that they were expecting Walker back on the field within a fortnight.
That has now come and gone, and coach Robinson said it'll likely be at least another few weeks when quizzed over whether Walker would be fit to return next weekend for what is now a must-win clash against the Manly Sea Eagles.
"No, I don't think so," Robinson said during his post-game press conference after the Roosters' 32 points to 10 loss at the hands of the Brisbane Broncos on Thursday evening.
"He'll have one final test on Monday and then we will build it up.
"He has been stop-start which hasn't helped his progression there, so he won't be back next week. I think it'll be at least a couple of weeks."
The loss to Brisbane means the Roosters now likely need to win five from five on the run home, but Robinson played a dead bat to suggest the club may put Walker on ice with an eye to a big pre-season ahead of the 2024 campaign.
"I definitely don't want to talk about [Walker's potentially not playing this year] that from a finals point of view. I think the best thing to do is treat the injury," Robinson added.
"If the injury is right and everything is right, he is a young footy player, and we will get him back playing, but if the injury isn't right, then we will wait till the injury is 100 per cent, not 95 per cent.
"We will do the right thing by Sam, and keep doing what we have done. I feel like they [the medical staff] have done an amazing job with ticking boxes on a lot of the tests."
It's likely that, given his age and the time he has spent out of first grade, Walker may yet return through the NSW Cup, where the Roosters will be in a fight to avoid the wooden spoon.
The NRL side - who need to likely win five from five - face the Manly Sea Eagles (home), Dolphins (home), Parramatta Eels (away), Wests Tigers (home) and South Sydney Rabbitohs (away) over the final weeks of the regular season.
First it was “a couple of weeks in a knee brace – no surgery needed”, and ten weeks later (presumably after surgery), we now have “he won’t be back next week. I think it’ll be at least a couple of weeks.”
A more honest assessment would be “we need to win five from to make the eight, so as soon as we lose one match we’ll just rule him out for the rest of the season”.
Either way, after three months on the sideline he may end up physically fit, but he won’t be match fit, and is unlikely to add anything to the first team without at least a week in the reggies.