The Sydney Roosters will face this weekend's trip to Townsville for a clash with the North Queensland Cowboys without head coach Trent Robinson.
A statement from the club released on Tuesday morning confirmed the super coach has tested positive for COVID-19.
Under current federal and state government health rules, any person testing positive to the virus and their household contacts must isolate for a period of seven days.
The trip north without their coach comes at as an untimely blow for the tri-colours, who have only won one of their first three matches for the season.
The Roosters lost to the Knights in the opening round, then hit back against the Manly Sea Eagles, before being outclassed by the South Sydney Rabbitohs last Friday evening.
It leaves them outside the top eight and facing a difficult clash on Saturday evening against the Cowboys, who have beaten the Canberra Raiders and Brisbane Broncos to throw plenty of doubters off their back.
Robinson said he was feeling fine and comfortable with the plans in place.
“I’m feeling fine and am very comfortable with the plans we have in place, and I’ll be back at the club next week," Robinson said in the statement.
The club are yet to confirm what those plans are, however, it's thought Jason Ryles will take over as head coach for the clash, with Brett Morris to be his second in command.
The Roosters will also sweat on having no other players or staff catch the virus in the coming days.
Robinson isn't the first coach to miss a match this year, with new Cronulla Sharks boss and Robinson's former assistant Craig Fitzgibbon forced to watch on from the sidelines during the club's heartbreaking opening-round loss to the Canberra Raiders.
Other clubs - most notably the Knights - also put preparations in place during the pre-season by letting assistant coaches take charge for a game.
The Roosters clash with the Cowboys kicks off at 7:35pm (AEDT) on Saturday evening.
