Wakefield Trinity boss Daryl Powell reveals Jazz Tevaga injury as he reacts to Challenge Cup bans
Wakefield Trinity head coach Daryl Powell has revealed that Jazz Tevaga will miss up to six weeks with a knee injury sustained in last week's controversial Challenge Cup incident against Wigan Warriors.
The forward received a costly yellow card for kicking out at Liam Marshall after his other leg became trapped, leading to criticism of the Wigan winger from Powell.
The Warriors scored twice in his absence to take control of the tie and Tevaga was subsequently banned for two games.
However, he will be sidelined for even longer after receiving some more bad news.
"It's a four-to-six-week injury," said Powell, who also confirmed that Isaiah Vagana will sit out the next couple of games with shoulder and ankle issues.
"The ban is the ban. It's kind of irrelevant for Jazz now with that injury. He hyperextended his knee. I've seen the close-in footage and just think the same as last week.
"He's had a scan and is in a brace at the moment. We've got the Challenge Cup break having lost last week so hopefully it doesn't have a big impact on Jazz's season.
"Pittsy (Jay Pitts) has been doing an awesome job at 13 and he'll continue to do that."
Harry Smith was suspended for his part in the fracas that led to Tevaga's yellow card.
The England international will sit out three games after being charged with grade E 'unnecessary contact with a player who is/may be injured'.
Warriors team-mate Sam Walters also received a three-match ban for headbutting.
"I thought the Harry Smith one was harsh," said Powell.
"The other one is an incident that should have been seen at the time.
"But I've just got to move past that. Sometimes those go your way. We'll learn lessons from them, as I'm sure the officials do.
"You don't want to be missing things like that – you don't want headbutts on the field."
Tevaga has been in the thick of the action since arriving in Super League, often at the centre of flashpoints.
Powell acknowledged that the Samoa international must improve his discipline.
"We've had a chat," said Powell.
"I don't think we needed it because he knows. He's been around a long time.
"Some players play closer to the line than others and sometimes he steps over it. We want to keep him on the right side of the line of the law.
"If we do that, he'll be massive for us. He's had some quality games for us. We're just looking for consistency in that department.
"I'm not going to start jumping up and down too much. He's got a period to cool his head down before coming back and being an awesome player for the rest of the year."