NRL 2024: Dolphins star Tom Gilbert’s ACL surgery delayed after blood clot travels to lung
Tom Gilbert’s horror injury run has been compounded by a potentially serious blood clot, delaying surgery on his knee. See when the Dolphins star will go under the knife.
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The NRL is on notice after the Cowboys rode back in town and stunned Wayne Bennett’s Dolphins in a 43-18 Queensland derby demolition on Sunday afternoon.
Any hopes of the Dolphins repeating their memorable round 1 victory against the Roosters last year were quickly dashed as the Cowboys rediscovered the form that took them to the 2022 preliminary finals.
The 25-point trouncing before 32,477 at Suncorp Stadium proved the Cowboys are a genuine NRL premiership contender at their best.
But it was a brutal reality check for the Dolphins in their quest to deliver departing coach Bennett a finals farewell.
CLOT SCARE, SURGERY BLOW
Maroons enforcer Tom Gilbert has suffered a major setback in his return from a season-ending knee injury after contracting a potentially serious blood clot.
Gilbert ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee during the Dolphins’ loss to the Warriors in the last week of the NRL’s Pre-season Challenge a fortnight ago.
The Dolphins returned to Brisbane from New Zealand the day after the game, with Gilbert reportedly developing a blood clot in his calf following the trip that moved to his lungs.
Gilbert is now in the clear, however the condition has had major repercussions in his rehabilitation.
The surgery to repair Gilbert’s knee injury has now been postponed up to three months and will be followed by at least a nine-month recovery.
That means Gilbert may be unavailable for the start of the 2025 NRL season on the back of missing the entire 2024 competition.
From bad to worse for Tom Gilbert, who after suffering an ACL injury in the final Dolphins trial then developed a blood clot in his calf on the flight home which travelled to his lungs. Has delayed his ACL reconstruction surgery by 3 months. Scary situation, thankfully he’s OK pic.twitter.com/u6elwCD2Es
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) March 10, 2024
Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett said he was uncertain about Gilbert’s prognosis.
“I can tell you what we know and what we know is there’s no definitive conclusion about when the operation’s going to be,” Bennett said.
“He did have a blood clot and it’s been resolved. There’s an ongoing examination with the doctor and we don’t have a definitive answer about what’s going to happen.
“We’re not going to speculate.
“He was never going to play this season anyway and no-one was rushing around to get him an operation.
“It’s no more serious than the day he injured his leg,
“He’s okay, he’s here today, he’s fine.”
The Dolphins missed Gilbert in Sunday’s season-opening 43-18 loss to North Queensland at Suncorp Stadium.
CLASSY COWBOYS
The Cowboys were widely-tipped to be title contenders last year after falling one game short of the 2022 decider, but they were slow out of the blocks and spent the season chasing their tails before finishing 11th.
Things could be different this year after Todd Payten’s charges dismantled the Dolphins with clinical precision and blistering speed.
Scott Drinkwater and Tom Dearden pulled the strings, backrow weapons Heilum Luki and Jeremiah Nanai were a constant handful and centres Zac Laybutt (two tries) and Valentine Holmes had a field day.
“I’m very happy, we started fast and played some nice footy,” Payten said.
“There’s still a heap of improvement left in us. I’m happy to sit in the sheds with the boys after a long pre-season and enjoy the hard work we put in.
“It’s only round one and it’s a marathon, not a sprint. It’s a great way to start but important we capitalise on this.
“It’s important to not chase your tail at the back end of the season.”
If the Cowboys stay fit they will play finals football in 2024.
DIABOLICAL DOLPHINS
The Dolphins unveiled Broncos signings Tom Flegler and Herbie Farnworth but were outplayed across the park and their defence left a lot to be desired.
The forward pack was trounced by the younger and faster Cowboys and Bennett must find a way for the Dolphins to improve their edge defence after being torn to shreds by Dearden and Drinkwater.
The left edge combination of Tesi Niu and Jack Bostock was suspect all afternoon and Nanai and Luki had a field day in closer.
The Cowboys were too fast and dynamic on a dry track for an ageing Dolphins forward pack that has plenty of experience but lacks youthful legs.
Injuries are also mounting already with Connelly Lemuelu (knee) joining Origin star Tom Gilbert on the sidelines.
“I’ve got a good group of guys that work really hard,” Bennett said.
“We had a bad day. We’ve got 23 games to go.
“If we put it behind us quickly we’ll be a lot better off than if we drag it out.
“We’ll keep it stable and not overreact.”
DRINKY’S DELIGHT
Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater showed why he could be the best ball-playing No. 1 in the NRL.
Drinkwater was electric on the back of North Queensland’s attacking sets, constantly troubling the Dolphins with his elite execution.
Conversely, Dolphins fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow missed a number of opportunities to create tries for his teammates.
Tabuai-Fidow is a dynamic ball-runner but has work to do when it comes to becoming an all-round fullback.
His lazy defensive decision to kick a loose ball straight into the arms of Luki to score could have caused Bennett to have conniptions in the coaches’ box.
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