Joseph Manu will slot back into the Sydney Roosters' number six jersey upon his return from injury this weekend, with Sam Walker's return delayed.
Walker, who picked up a knee injury after being cut to NSW Cup in recent weeks, was expected to come straight back into first-grade for a Round 14 clash against the Canterbury Bulldogs on June 4 following last weekend's bye for the struggling Roosters.
However, the Round 14 timeline for the MCL injury has been blown out of the water, with News Corp reporting that the halfback could be at least another two or three weeks away.
That will see him miss Sunday's game against the Bulldogs, the following Saturday's game against the Penrith Panthers, and potentially the Round 16 Saturday clash against the Newcastle Knights.
The Roosters then play the Canberra Raiders in Sydney during Round 17, and the Manly Sea Eagles at Brookvale during Round 18. Whether Walker slots back into the side for those games or spends more time in reserve grade remains to be seen, and likely will largely depend on the tri-colours form.
Walker was axed to the NSW Cup ahead of Anzac Day against the St George Illawarra Dragons in Round 8, largely thanks to the club's form, but with a new-look halves pairing of Joseph Manu and Luke Keary, things hardly turned the corner, with less than convincing wins over the Dragons and New Zealand Warriors, before they came up short against the North Queensland Cowboys and Panthers.
In Round 12, with Manu also injured, Drew Hutchison played in the number six as the Roosters came up two points short against the Dragons.
The Roosters have elected to move Manu back into the jersey for this Sunday's game in Gosford against Canterbury, with Hutchison reverting to the bench utility role.
