Some players are hard to replace. Johnson is just about impossible.
A little over a fortnight ago, their campaign had hit a high, with Johnson the architect of a brilliant win over the Storm that took them into the top four. Now this is a very definite low.
It's hard to know how the Warriors will cope without Johnson, simply because they have never had to before. He has missed only a handful of games since he burst onto the scene in 2011 and has been heavily involved in most of the Warriors' best performances over the past five seasons.
The 24-year-old has scored 44 tries in that time as well as registered 88 try assists.
He's the main playmaker as well as the most dangerous attacker, the guy who creates the holes and the player who makes the linebreaks. And don't forget his prodigious bomb, long kicking game, grubber skills and his status as the No 1 goalkicker.
With Johnson in the team, you always felt that anything was possible. If the forwards got parity and he got going, then any team in the competition were beatable, such is his unique set of skills. It didn't always happen, but it could. He's probably the most dangerous runner in the NRL and could create something from nothing.
That's gone now, and the Warriors will have to play as more of a team. There will be an extra onus on Sam Tomkins and Chad Townsend with playmaking and kicking responsibilities and Tui Lolohea appears the likely candidate to fill the vacancy in the halves.
Who knows, perhaps it will bring out the best in the Warriors? But without Johnson's capacity for individual brilliance, they'll have to play a much more team-oriented game and they can't afford any passengers, because there is no one to provide the Houdini acts anymore.
Unfortunately, though, they are coming off their worst eight days of the season - an ordinary performance against the Roosters followed by last night's awful defensive display against Manly.
It's going to take a huge turnaround and it's hard to see it happening without the livewire No 7. After the double blow last night, their top-four chances look extremely remote - virtually gone - and even a spot in the playoffs will be a tough ask now.
"It's a massive loss, like it is with any key playmaker," said Manly coach Geoff Toovey. "I think they can still make the top eight. [With] the Warriors team it's possible to do anything on their day but he'll be a definite loss for them."
