The Melbourne Storm have confirmed better than anticipated news on both Harry Grant and Jack Howarth.
Grant was a late omission from the Storm's clash with the Dolphins last weekend, and initial reports suggested he could be out for as long as six weeks.
A hamstring strain has since been revealed to be minor, though and the club only expect him to miss games against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Canberra Raiders over the next fortnight before being fit to return in Round 10 against the Wests Tigers.
โHarry suffered a hamstring strain at last week's Captain's Run. He'll miss the next two games, Anzac Day and then Magic Round. We're hoping he'll be back in time to face the Wests Tigers," the club's general manager of football Frank Ponissi said in a club video release.
Jack Howarth was the other major concern out of the loss to the Dolphins, but will likely only miss between four and six weeks with a dislocated shoulder, avoiding surgery.
โIn good news Jack doesn't require surgery on his shoulder. We will rehab his shoulder over the next few weeks and monitor his recovery. It will be 4-6 weeks for Jack," Ponissi said.
The biggest risk for Howarth in recovering without surgery will be suffering a similar injury down the trick, and the Storm will give him as many weeks as needed on the sideline to restrengthen the shoulder.
Tui Kamikamica was the other injury concern out of the Dolphins game, and Ponissi said the club only expected him to miss a fortnight.
โTui injured his ankle in his first run of the Dolphins game. He tried to play on but unfortunately the ankle was badly sprained. He will miss the Anzac Day game and likely Magic Round as well. We expect Tui to play against Wests Tigers in Round 10," Ponissi said on the Fijian forward.
Meanwhile, Will Warbrick is still out with concussion, and Ponissi said the club will not push the New Zealander back to the field.
He has already missed a number of weeks, and the Storm have not put a return date on the winger.
Nick Meaney and Nelson Asofa-Solomona are also set to return in some capacity this weekend for the game with the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Meaney has been named in the centres, while Asofa-Solomona is in the reserves and could yet return through reserve grade after battling concussion symptoms of his own.
Meaney is not yet a guarantee of playing.
โNick and Nelson have been named in the extended squad for Friday night. Nick will need to get through the next two training sessions to be confirmed to play against South Sydney," Ponissi said.
"Nelson was cleared to return to training last week and is available for selection. The coaching staff will determine whether he plays at feeder level this weekend or makes his NRL return on Friday night.โ
