Warriors five-eighth, Luke Metcalf has been sidelined for a period of between two and eight weeks after sustaining a hamstring injury at training on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old was named in Andrew Webster's reserve squad for this Sunday's pre-season challenge match against the Melbourne Storm, but now may be unavailable for selection in Round 1 of the season.
Metcalf started at six in last week's trial against the Wests Tigers, scoring a dazzling try early in the second half and slotting 3 from 5 attempts at goal.
He has already made 7 appearances in the NRL since debuting for Cronulla in 2021, however only made one appearance last season after signing a two-year deal with the Warriors in the off-season.
Metcalf was seemingly an unlikely starter for New Zealand in Round 1 with Te Maire Martin set to pair Shaun Johnson in the halves and Dylan Walker cemented as the club's number 14.
That said, Te Maire Martin's possible ability to play fullback if rookie coach Andrew Webster elects to play Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad in the centres could have opened up a free spot.
That could now see Webster turn to young gun Ronald Volkman who debuted in the top grade in Round 15 last year when the Warriors faced the Panthers following his mid-season release from the Sydney Roosters alongside back-up dummy half Freddy Lussick.
Metcalf has had a challenging history with injury thus far, missing the majority of 2019 with a torn ACL and also sitting out 2020 due to the COVID pandemic while he was still in the lower grades.
As a former NSW under-18s representative with plenty of pace and crafty football in him, it will be interesting to see if Metcalf can play his way into the top-grade squad in 2023, having impressed during his previous first-grade performances at Cronulla.
