Tom Johnstone injury update as fellow Wakefield Trinity star could miss season’s start

Wakefield Trinity winger Tom Johnstone is expected back in full training before the end of this calendar year – but senior forward Josh Griffin could miss the start of the 2025 season.

Johnstone has returned to Trinity ahead of the club’s return to Super League, having turned down lucrative offers from other clubs including Catalans Dragons to commit to Daryl Powell’s side. However, he is not yet back in full pre-season training following a leg fracture suffered while playing for the Dragons this summer.

Johnstone had to undergo surgery to insert a plate into his leg to provide additional strength which has left him unable to take part in the club’s first few field sessions of pre-season.

But Wakefield physio Matt Crowther insisted that there is no danger of Johnstone not being available for the big kick-off come February, with his return to the field now fast approaching.

“He fractured his fibula bone in his lower leg against Castleford in July last season and the type of lad Tom is, he wanted to get back for international duty but unfortunately that didn’t work,” Crowther told the club’s YouTube channel.

“We had to get him to have his surgery over here, because he needed a plate putting in it to strengthen it. But he’s doing really well now and he’ll be back running on the Alter-G machine this week and his transition to the field will come in the next few weeks.

“I wouldn’t expect him to be much longer until after Christmas and then being ready to start the season.”

However, Griffin could be a doubt for the big kick-off after being forced to undergo surgery for an adductor tear in the latter stages of last season.

Griffin, one of Trinity’s best performers in 2024, is now recovering at home and is not ready to return to training – with Crowther admitting there is a lengthy recovery process involved.

“That injury required surgery, there was no way around it,” he said. That meant he had to be booked in at the beginning of November and he’s not been in with us yet, we can’t do anything just yet.

“He’s just sat at home recovering from his surgery which he had done down in London. We can then start his rehabilitation next week and the return to play is a long one, around three or four months.”

READ NEXT: NRL Las Vegas crowd update as Wigan and Warrington travelling numbers revealed

Crowther also revealed that young hooker Tommy Doyle played through the pain barrier for the whole of last season, having recently undergone shoulder surgery.

Doyle picked up an issue during Trinity’s game at Siddal way back at the beginning of the 2024 campaign, and he continued to play and train as normal despite the injury. However, he has now been under the knife to correct the issue.

“He did the injury playing at Siddal back in January last year,” Crowther revealed.

“He had a few weeks off after that, and it was in his AC joint. He did it tough all year but never moaned once, that’s the type of lad he is. If you watch him in training, he hits people hard. So that’s testament to him, but we needed to sort that at the end of thee season. We wanted to get that sorted and he’ll be about ready for the start hopefully.”

Crowther also revealed that Myles Lawford is expected to return in around April after a serious knee injury.

READ NEXT: Super League table of the 2000s: where do Trinity rank out of 17 teams?