The New Zealand Warriors have confirmed Kurt Capewell picked up a calf injury during the warm-up for last Friday's clash with the Canberra Raiders.
The Origin-experienced veteran was a late withdrawal for the Auckland-based side, with Leka Halasima slotting into the second-row.
It has now been revealed the injury will cost him four weeks of his season, with the versatile forward not due back until Round 6 when the Warriors travel to face the Melbourne Storm in the Victorian capital.
In the meantime, Capewell will miss games against the Newcastle Knights, Wests Tigers and Cronulla Sharks, providing Halasima a chance to recapture his starting role which has been lost to Jacob Laban in the opening weeks of the season, despite his incredible 2025 breakout campaign.
The Warriors have also confirmed by Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Chanel Harris-Tavita are in concussion protocols, but should only miss this weekend's game with the Knights.
The duo are being replaced by Taine Tuaupiki and debutant Luke Hanson for the game.
In better news for Andrew Webster's side, Luke Metcalf's return timeline has now officially been brought in from Round 7 to Round 6, while Mitchell Barnett has been cleared to return from his ACL injury, having been named on the bench when teams dropped on Tuesday afternoon.
The only other players in the casualty ward for the Warriors ahead of this weekend's trip to Newcastle are Rocco Berry (shoulder, mid-season), Jye Linnane (knee, Round 4) and Te Maire Martin (leg, Round 11-12).
