NRL casualty ward Round 16: All the weekend injuries in one spot
Latest on unsung Panther Isaah Yeo, Souths superstar Latrell Mitchell and two guns the Melbourne Storm were hoping to have available for the NRL finals.
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Latrell Mitchell’s 2020 season has come to an unfortunate end after he suffered a proximal hamstring rupture that will require surgery.
In a horribly unlucky incident Mitchell was effectively folded in half at the hips due to contact from a Rabbitohs teammate, causing his hamstrings to be put on sudden and extreme stretch.
While there were early positive signs with the star fullback able to leave the field under his own power, scans the following day revealed the worst possible results.
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A proximal hamstring rupture occurs when the hamstring tendon completely tears from its attachment to the pelvis, and requires surgery to repair the damage and allow full function in the leg to be regained.
This usually results in at least 3-4 months for a full recovery, which would thankfully still give Mitchell a few months of pre-season in preparation for 2021.
Like any hamstring injury a complete rupture will leave Mitchell at an increased risk of further hamstring injury (re-injury rate of 10-30%), but this risk declines with time.
The Rabbitohs medical staff would expect to have that risk at an acceptable level by the time Mitchell plays his next competitive game in 5-6 months time.
TWO MORE BIG NAMES DOWN FOR STORM
Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy is confident the club’s depth can handle their injury woes after Nelson Asofa-Solomona (calf) and Marion Seve (suspected ACL) both failed to finish in their 30-6 win over Manly.
In front of 2910 fans at a socially-distanced Sunshine Coast Stadium, Storm centre Justin Olam crossed for a hat-trick in a handy turnaround from last week’s scoreless result against Parramatta.
The return of the two Cameron’s – Smith and Munster – steered Melbourne to their 24-point victory, marking up their 16th win in a row at a Queensland venue.
Big Nelson is expected to miss the next one to two weeks, but Seve is looking at a long stint in recovery with Storm’s Ryan Hoffman confirming in a statement the club is pretty confident he has done his ACL.
Fears of an ACL injury for Marion Seve. Injury mechanism matches concern; direction change, non contact with shift of tibia (lower leg bone) during step. Testing from medical staff very accurate, so suspected ACL injury not a good sign. Surgery & 6-9 month recovery usual result pic.twitter.com/joNJWmWuaO
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) August 30, 2020
BROWN DOWN IN HUGE BLOW FOR EELS
In another blow to a premiership hopeful leading into finals Dylan Brown will miss several weeks after learning he requires surgery on a syndesmosis injury.
In a stunning show of toughness the young half was able to play on for 25 minutes after suffering the injury, however scan results again indicated surgery and a long lay-off.
Thankfully for Brown syndesmosis repair surgery has seen an accelerated recovery process in recent times, with most players able to return in 6-8 weeks compared to 4-6 months only 5-10 years ago. Six players this year have returned within the usual 6-8 week recovery period (Will Hopoate, Taniela Paseka, Val Holmes, Connor Watson, Daniel Tupou and Brian To’o), which best case would see Brown fit to return in the second week of finals.
YEO BLOW ROCKS PANTHERS
There was significant concern on Saturday night when Isaah Yeo reeled out of a tackle stumbling and clearly affected by a blow to the head and jaw.
He was quickly removed from the field for a HIA and ruled out for the game.
While post-match Panthers coach Ivan Cleary indicated Yeo had passed his HIA, it was clear from the symptoms he displayed on field that he had suffered a concussion and would need to pass through the NRL’s concussion protocols.
Ivan Cleary indicated Isaah Yeo had “passed his test†last night after coming from the field for a HIA. Yeo was likely no chance to return however after showing clear category 1 symptoms of concussion (motor incoordination/unsteadiness/stumbling) which rules him out for the game pic.twitter.com/TQs2lMphPR
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) August 30, 2020
While it is obviously a good sign that Yeo was so unaffected by his symptoms soon after the blow that he was able to pass his HIA, this is unfortunately not always an accurate predictor of a quick and smooth recovery.
Concussion symptoms can be delayed, intermittent and recurrent in some cases, so the Panthers will have to monitor Yeo closely in the coming days.
Further complicating the matter is Yeo’s complex recent history with concussion after he visited a specialist in 2019 due to multiple head knocks in quick succession.
The Panthers have a five-day turnaround until their Round 17 game, and considering the six stage NRL concussion protocol with guidelines of 24 hours per stage and Yeo’s concussion history it would appear he is at long odds to play.
It is worth mentioning in rare cases players have returned five days after suffering a concussion, as the 24 hours per stage is only a guideline, not an enforceable rule.
Michael Morgan expected to miss 3 weeks with a calf tear sustained last night. The use of “tear†usually indicates at least a grade 2 strain, return usually in the 3-6 week range. The Cowboys have said there’s a chance Morgan will return late in the season
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) August 30, 2020
And in other news:
* Michael Morgan has been ruled out for three weeks with a calf injury.
* Jesse Ramien left the field twice in the Sharks win over the Cowboys; once after a heavy knock for a HIA (which he passed) and another due to persistent vision issues after copping a poke to the eye during the same incident.
Thankfully post match coach John Morris indicated Ramien’s vision issues were due to the eye poke rather than a symptom of concussion, which is much more positive for his overall prognosis. It’s likely he will be fine to return next week.
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Originally published as NRL casualty ward Round 16: All the weekend injuries in one spot