The North Queensland Cowboys are set to be without Jason Taumalolo yet again after he suffered a calf strain during the warm up on Saturday evening.
The injury saw him become a late withdrawal from the Cowboys' heavy loss to the Dolphins in Townsville, where the Redcliffe-based outfit posted 58 points.
Taumalolo, who was originally named to start at lock by Cowboys coach Todd Payten, was replaced in the run on side by Harrison Edwards, with Thomas Duffy slotting onto the bench in the vacant position.
Scans will be needed to confirm the extent of the injury for Taumalolo, who has two years left on his ten-year deal in Townsville.
He has played just six games this year having previously missed time with the same injury, and was set to return on Saturday evening before injuring himself.
His last appearance came in Round 9 against the New Zealand Warriors.
The NRL Physio said that given it's the second similar injury this year, it's likely a slower rehab process will be taken by the Cowboys, which could leave the representative forward sidelined for a lengthy period.
Jason Taumalolo is facing another stint on the sidelines after re-injuring his calf in the warm up of his return game last night.
Had previously missed 5 weeks - scans to come on this one but worth noting recurrent strains often involve more gradual rehab progress. pic.twitter.com/u5ZxMIyR9N
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) June 15, 2025
Taumalolo managed to play 23 games last year, and 25 in 2022, but outside of that, hasn't played more than 20 games in a season since 2018.
The injury comes at a bad time for the Cowboys, with the club sitting outside the top eight on the back of their loss to the Dolphins. The NRL ladder is a logjam though, and despite being in tenth spot with five wins from 13 games, they are just three points behind the fifth-placed Cronulla Sharks.
North Queensland are slated to clash with the Sydney Roosters and Gold Coast Titans in back-to-back away games in the next fortnight, before hosting the Melbourne Storm and Canterbury Bulldogs in what shapes as a difficult month of footy ahead.
