Adam Reynolds injury rocks the Brisbane Broncos premiership campaign
Brisbane Broncos have moved to quash fears captain Adam Reynolds could miss the club’s premiership tilt, providing a surprising update on his injury scare.
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Broncos coach Kevin Walters insists captain Adam Reynolds will be fit for Brisbane’s NRL premiership tilt after the influential halfback sustained a calf injury.
Reynolds has been ruled out of next Saturday’s clash with Canberra and is racing the clock to return to the field before the play-offs after suffering a “mild calf strain” during an opposed training session on Friday.
The Broncos have a bye this weekend and Reynolds is hopeful of returning for the last match of the regular season against Melbourne on August 31.
Walters said the injury was not serious and he is confident Brisbane’s skipper will be back in time for the finals.
“We expect him to be playing finals,” Walters said.
“Adam might even play against Melbourne in round 27.”
However that is no guarantee given the fickle nature of calf injuries, which can be notoriously difficult to overcome.
South Sydney’s Latrell Mitchell sustained what was described as a minor calf injury earlier this year and missed two months of action, including the entire State of Origin series.
Matildas superstar Sam Kerr had the most talked about calf injury in Australia’s sporting history which caused her to sit out the group stage of the World Cup before she returned gradually during the knockout games.
Reynolds, 33, is arguably the most crucial player in Brisbane’s quest to snap a 17-year premiership drought and will be replaced in the No. 7 jersey by Jock Madden for at least the Raiders game.
The Broncos have got themselves into the top two on the NRL ladder alongside back-to-back premiers Penrith, a fantastic position to launch a title assault.
However the loss of Reynolds would be a crushing blow if he is unavailable for any of the play-offs matches.
At this stage, the Broncos are confident Reynolds will only miss up to two games and will be available for the finals.
“Adam was sore in his calf after yesterday’s training session at Red Hill,” Broncos head of performance Dave Ballard said.
“At this stage of the season we will take a cautious approach and have Adam work through his rehab over the coming week.
“He will miss the game in Canberra before we look to the Storm game the following Thursday.”
While the Broncos will not play this weekend, Walters did not want his team to lose any momentum following a six-game winning streak and scheduled a high-intensity session on Friday before they had the weekend off.
Reynolds was an unfortunate casualty from the session and is now fighting to play again before the finals.
If he doesn’t face the Storm, Reynolds will go into Brisbane’s week one finals match on the weekend of September 8-10 without a game in four weeks.
The Broncos are likely to finish in the top two and secure a home final at Suncorp Stadium in the first week of the play-offs in which a win would give them a week off and see Brisbane progress straight into a grand final qualifier.
Originally published as Adam Reynolds injury rocks the Brisbane Broncos premiership campaign
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