Wakefield Trinity head to Toulouse this week for a rematch of the opening round of Super League, with Isaiah Vagana in the squad and in line to play. Max Jowitt and Tom Johnstone will both miss the trip, leaving Daryl Powell with only one of the three players discussed available for selection.

The game brings Wakefield back to the side that handed them one of two upset wins in the opening round, when Toulouse Olympique beat them at the start of the campaign. Toulouse, under Sylvain Houles, have also proved hard to break down on home turf, which makes the return fixture a difficult one even before the absences are counted.

Vagana has not played since the Challenge Cup quarter-final defeat to Wigan in mid-April, but his return offers Wakefield at least some good news. Harvey Smith is also in contention to come back after sitting out last week because he was rested, giving Powell a little more flexibility as he tries to manage a squad hit by injuries and absences.

Jowitt, who has missed the last four matches, is expected to start training next week and could be available after that. Powell said he would be hopeful that the full-back would begin training then and be ready around the Hull KR game after the Challenge Cup Final, describing the tendon issue as a slow burn. Johnstone is expected back at a similar time, with the injuries to both players seen as something the Challenge Cup breaks helped ease rather than solve outright.

For Wakefield, that leaves this week’s trip shaped less by who is coming back than by who is still out. Toulouse won the first meeting, have home form on their side and are chasing another result that would reinforce their position over a team still waiting to get its key men back together.