Jarryd Hayne's rugby league return has been pushed back by at least a week, with the 37-year-old ruled out of his first game in six-and-a-half years with a sore hamstring.
Hayne is set to make his comeback with Wentworthville in the third-tier Ron Massey Cup this season, where he is expected to play five-eighth.
The two-time Dally M Medallist had been pushing to return from a hamstring injury in order to play in round one on Saturday, but was not named in the Magpies' side.
Medical staff have decided Hayne will not play as a late inclusion, but he is considered a good chance to return against Penrith Brothers next week.
Once the biggest name in the NRL after taking Parramatta to the 2009 grand final, Hayne has not played a rugby league match since he went uncontracted at the end of the Eels' 2018 season.
His chances of earning another deal were then ended when charged with two counts of sexual intercourse without consent on the night of the 2018 grand final.
Hayne was found guilty following two trials and served more than a year behind bars, but was released from prison last June when he had his conviction overturned.
The former NSW and Australian representative had maintained his innocence throughout the ordeal, before his charges were officially dropped weeks after his successful appeal.
Hayne had his first official involvement back in rugby league as part of Fiji's coaching staff ahead of last year's Pacific Championships.
He then briefly featured in a Nines tournament on the Gold Coast last month, but played limited minutes due to the hamstring concern suffered in the lead up.
The Parramatta favourite has set his sights on potentially representing Fiji again at the end of this year, if he can recapture his fitness while playing for Wentworthville.
Hayne was previously part of Fiji's 2008 and 2017 World Cup squads, while he also represented the Pacific nation in rugby sevens after his NFL stint.
The Ron Massey Cup is the third-tier open-age competition in NSW, sitting below the NRL and NSW Cup.
Wentworthville act as a feeder club to Parramatta's NSW Cup side. Hayne has publicly conceded that while a return to the NRL is the fairytale, it is unlikely.
