Sydney Roosters head coach Trent Robinson has confirmed James Tedesco will miss the game against the Wests Tigers on Sunday afternoon, with Cody Ramsey replacing him for the third week in a row.
The NSW Blues star injured his ankle in the first half of the famous 82-12 victory over the North Queensland Cowboys and has not returned since.
Robinson has named his captain every week and even laughed during his media availability, saying he will name him next week.
For the Roosters, the process of managing Tedesco's injury has been described as "frustrating" by the club's coach, explaining why it has been more difficult than first thought.
"We've named him each week, but he's not right to play this week," the Roosters coach explained.
"He's progressed well, but it's been more nigglely than we thought."
The Roosters are working up to and hoping that Tedesco will progress with more training in the lead-up to their top four match against the Dolphins.
"He has to build up a whole week of training, and he hasn't been able to do that."
The former Tigers player will miss playing 20 games in a season for the first time since 2020.
He has missed the 20-game mark five times in his career, including the 2012 season when he made his debut and played his only game in the calendar year.
Mark Nawaqanitawase and Victor Radley are named and both trained without issues, putting to bed the mass-resting rumours.
The Mole had reported earlier in the week that Mark Nawaqanitawase and Victor Radley could also be out against the Tigers this weekend.
However, Trent Robinson made no mention of either player being unavailable during his press conference, so at this stage those rumours appear unlikely to be true.
Tedesco's could return as early as next Saturday to play against the Dolphins or in the final round of the season against their greatest rivals, the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
