The Sydney Roosters are still unsure when Sam Walker will return from his knee injury and the uncertainty is frustrating coach Trent Robinson as the side approaches a critical juncture in its season.
The Roosters dropped Walker to reserve grade after the round-seven loss to Cronulla in April. When he sprained his anterior cruciate ligament in early May, the 21-year-old's path back to the NRL became blocked.
Walker has shown potential for a long career in the NRL and his absence has caused significant disruption to the Roosters' halves; centre Joey Manu and utility Drew Hutchison both spent time there before Robinson changed tack and debuted Sandon Smith.
Not coincidentally, the Roosters have struggled in attack this season, with only the last-placed Wests Tigers averaging fewer points per game.
Saturday night's 30-16 loss to Melbourne means the 14th-placed Roosters need to claim six of their remaining seven games to finish the season with a winning record.
Walker had been expected to return in time to help the Roosters revitalise their attack and reprise the late-season winning-streak that helped them sneak into the finals last year.
But Robinson said there were still question marks around his return date, with the club aware that aggravating an ACL injury could result in months on the sidelines.
"I don't know if it's going to be one week or four weeks," he said.
"He's training and he's close but it just keeps niggling. It's not an injury you're going to muck around with, the ACL, so we want it to be right.
"We're a little bit frustrated but we're also not going to take a risk there."
Robinson wouldn't use disruption in the halves as an excuse for the Roosters' wasteful attack in the loss to the Storm, pointing out Smith and Luke Keary had been the halves pairing for six consecutive weeks.
"Our end of sets were as bad as I've seen tonight," he said.
"There's been a lot of movement this year and the cohesion isn't as great. But in the end, it's individual execution of plays.
"They're not that complicated for most teams about what you should be doing on the last (tackle)."
