The New Zealand Warriors have confirmed Shaun Johnson is awaiting scans on an ankle injury picked up at training.
The star halfback, who led the Warriors to a place in the 2023 NRL preliminary finals, is now believed to be in some doubt for the season opener that is just six weeks away.
The club confirmed to SEN Radio New Zealand that Johnson is now waiting for scans and is spending his time in a moon boot in the meantime.
It's unclear at this stage exactly how Johnson sustained the injury, or how serious medical staff at the club believe it is, however, a moon boot being worn is often a telltale sign of a syndesmosis injury which, pending on grade, could leave the halfback out for anywhere up to eight weeks.
The Warriors, who did recently release Ronald Volkman, still have a number of options to line up in their halves if Johnson was to be missing for any length of time, although whether they can hit the same performance output is questionable.
Still, the Warriors in their first season during 2023 under Andrew Webster were phenomenal and rode every bump on the road with relative ease.
The return of Chanel Harris-Tavita from a single-season retirement makes him the most likely option to start the season in the number seven if Johnson is unavailable, while the likes of Te Maire Martin and Luke Metcalf are also options to line up at halfback in the first halves combination of the year.
The Warriors kick-off their season with a home clash in Auckland against the Cronulla Sharks on Friday, March 8 at 6pm (AEDT), 8pm (local time).
