The Parramatta Eels have confirmed Mitchell Moses is no guarantee to be back for Round 2 after being left out of the club's season opener.
The star halfback missed the second half of the 2024 season with an injury suffered in State of Origin, and then suffered another one to his foot during the pre-season challenge.
The club left him out of their side for Round 1 against the Melbourne Storm, with Parramatta to travel to the Victorian capital to face Craig Bellamy's outfit who haven't lost an opening game to the campaign in over 20 years.
That challenge has become a whole lot tougher with Moses - who has recently re-signed with Parramatta through to the end of 2029 and been named club captain to take over from Clint Gutherson - missing.
"Mitch is experiencing soreness from a previous injury, we're taking a cautious approach to ensure his foot heals properly and he can play his best football for the team. We will continue to monitor Mitch's recovery and make an assessment on a return date next week," rookie head coach Jason Ryles told Eels media.
While Moses was originally not expected to miss any games at the start of the season, his absence will set alarm bells ringing at Eels HQ.
Back up halfback Dean Hawkins, who joined the club from the South Sydney Rabbitohs during the off-season, is also missing for the game after suffering an injury of his own.
That means former New Zealand Warrior Ronald Volkman, signed to the club on a train and trial contract, moves into the starting number seven jumper where he will partner Dylan Brown.
Isaiah Iongi takes the fullback jumper, while Jake Tago takes the place of Bailey Simonsson on the wing, with Zac Lomax to line up in the centres.
Jack Williams and Kelma Tuilagi also start on the edge, with Ryan Matterson featuring from the bench and Shaun Lane out injured.
Junior Paulo takes over the captaincy for the game with Moses out injured.
The trouble with having a prop as captain is that he’ll be off the field for half the game. I think Dylan Brown would have been a better choice than Paulo.