NRL 2018 post-season casualty ward: Surgery and rehab for stars

THE 2018 NRL season is done and dusted so now it’s time for our bruised and battered stars to rest up. Players are having surgery or hitting rehab to get back on track for next season. NRL Physio updates us on injuries to key stars.

The NRL casualty ward is looking pretty full at the end of the 2018 season.

THE 2018 NRL season is done and dusted so now it’s time for our bruised and battered stars to rest up ahead of season 2019.

Players are having surgery to repair busted shoulders and knees or simply hitting rehab to get back on track for next season.

Brisbane-based physiotherapist Brien Seeney aka NRL Physio takes us through the injuries some of the game’s biggest stars are battling this off-season.

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Cooper Cronk

We all now know the incredible story of Cooper Cronk playing in the grand final with a 15cm long scapula (shoulder blade) fracture. It is much more common to see an injury like this as the result of a motor vehicle accident as fracturing of the scapula usually requires high energy trauma.

Cooper Cronk sported a sling during the Roosters premiership celebrations this week. Picture: Toby Zerna

One of the most painful injuries a player can suffer, Cronk required multiple painkilling injections just to get through the game. The good news is that scapula fractures heal quickly and reliably because of the extensive blood supply to the bone, and rarely need surgery. Most require 4-6 weeks recovery, however this can extend to 10-12 weeks if the fracture is severe or surgery is required. Cronk should make a full recovery and be fit come 2019.

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Anthony Milford and Gareth Widdop

Anthony Milford and Gareth Widdop both underwent shoulder reconstruction surgery two weeks ago after injuries suffered late in the season. Milford suffered a shoulder subluxation (minor dislocation that pops out and back in) in the Broncos round 25 game but was able to play on for two weeks. Widdop missed three weeks after dislocating his shoulder in round 22, only to re-dislocate the same shoulder in his first game back in week one of the finals.

Gareth Widdop recovering in hospital after shoulder surgery. Picture: Instagram

Surgery is performed in these cases to provide increased stability to the shoulder joint and reduce the chance of dislocation in the future. Expect Milford and Widdop to begin field training, skills work and upper body weights at approximately the three-month mark. Full recovery is usually at 4-5 months post-surgery, and with kick-off for season 2019 still five months away they both should be ready for Round one.

Kalyn Ponga

Kalyn Ponga was not available for Kangaroos selection this month as he recovers from ankle surgery. Ponga missed four of the last eight regular season games due to an ankle injury, and required surgery to remove bone spurs and reattach a ruptured ankle ligament. He is expected to start running at the beginning of the Knights pre-season training in November and is in no doubt for the beginning of season 2019.

Kalyn Ponga wearing a moon boot following his late-season ankle injury. Picture: AAP

Wade Graham

2018 was an injury-interrupted year for Wade Graham which sadly ended with him suffering an ACL injury during the Sharks’ week one finals game. Around 70-80 per cent of ACL injuries are non-contact in nature, and this was unfortunately the case for Graham as he went down untouched early in the first half. Graham underwent ACL reconstruction surgery two weeks ago, with most NRL players requiring 6-9 months to return to play. With reports Graham suffered a suspected meniscus (knee cartilage) injury as well this could slow his early rehab progress. He will likely be touch-and-go to return for round one next year, and may still be eased back when he returns. Players who go through an ACL reconstruction often aren’t back to their best until the second season back.

Jarrod Croker

After dislocating his patella (kneecap) twice in round 18, it was determined Jarrod Croker would require surgery. This was the second time Croker had dislocated his left patella after suffering the same injury during the All Stars game in 2017.

Jarrod Croker recovering from surgery mid-season. He required work on his knee. Picture: Instagram

The good news is surgery reduces the risk of re-dislocation for Croker to less than five per cent. Croker has been completing lower body weights for the past month and had his first run on field last week. With time on his side, Croker should make a full recovery for the start of next season.

Nathan Cleary

Nathan Cleary missed seven weeks earlier this season after suffering a grade three MCL injury in his left knee. However on his return Cleary suffered an injury we are only just finding out about. After dealing with a partial tear of the deltoid ligament in his ankle, which is a ligament on the medial side, earlier in the season, Cleary suffered a full tear of this ligament during the Origin series. He was able to play through this injury for the rest of the season, likely with heavy strapping, and will now require surgery to repair the ligament. Cleary is currently on a well-earned holiday and will have surgery when he returns. He is expected back at Panthers pre-season training in January.

Full NRL injury list by club

BRONCOS

Andre Savelio (ACL, Trials)

Matt Gillett (Broken neck, TBC)

Payne Haas (Shoulder, Pre-season)

Jack Bird (Sternum, Pre-season)

Jaydn Su’A (Leg/foot, Pre-season)

Anthony Milford (Shoulder, Round 1)

BULLDOGS

Kieran Foran (Foot, TBC)

Raymond Faitala-Mariner (Hand/knee, Pre-season)

Marcelo Montoya (Hamstring, Pre-season)

COWBOYS

Sam Hoare (ACL, Early season)

Michael Morgan (Bicep, Trials)

Josh Chudleigh (Knee, TBC)

DRAGONS

Gareth Widdop (Shoulder, Round 1)

Paul Vaughan (Foot, Trials)

Euan Aitken (Hamstring, Pre-season)

Tariq Sims (Knee, Jan-Feb)

Jack De Belin (Ankle, Pre-season)

Jacob Host (Shoulder, Round 1)

EELS

Manu Ma’u (Cheekbone, Pre-season)

Josh Hoffman (Shoulder, Pre-season)

Kaysa Pritchard (Shoulder, Round 1)

Nathan Brown (Knee, Pre-season)

KNIGHTS

Kalyn Ponga (Ankle, Pre-season)

Slade Griffin (Knee, Mid-season)

Tautau Moga (ACL, Mid-season)

Jacob Saifiti (Shoulder, Pre-season)

Nathan Ross (Groin, Pre-season)

PANTHERS

Dean Whare (Broken arm, Pre-season)

Sam McKendry (ACL, Early-season)

Dylan Edwards (Shoulder, Pre-season)

Jarome Luai (Ankle, Pre-season)

Nathan Cleary (Ankle, Pre-season)

RABBITOHS

Adam Doueihi (ACL, Mid-season)

RAIDERS

Ata Hingano (Ankle, Pre-season)

Jack Wighton (Disciplinary, Pre-season)

Jarrod Croker (Knee, Pre-season)

Joseph Tapine (Broken thumb, Pre-season)

ROOSTERS

Bernard Lewis (ACL, Early-season)

Blake Ferguson (Broken leg, Pre-season)

Cooper Cronk (Fractured scapula, TBC)

Zane Tetevano (Ruptured bicep, TBC)

SEA EAGLES

Apisai Koroisau (Foot, Pre-season)

Curtis Sironen (ACL, Round 1)

Lachlan Croker (ACL, Early-season)

Akuila Uate (Ankle, Pre-season)

SHARKS

Jack Williams (Pectoral, Pre-season)

Wade Graham (ACL, Early-season)

STORM

None

TITANS

Dale Copley (Hamstring, Pre-season)

Max King (Shoulder, Pre-season)

Morgan Boyle (Shoulder, Pre-season)

Michael Gordon (Wrist, Pre-season)

Tyrone Roberts-Davis (Neck, Pre-season)

WARRIORS

Nathaniel Roache (Back, TBC)

WESTS TIGERS

Josh Reynolds (Shoulder, TBC)

Corey Thompson (Ankle, Pre-season)

Originally published as NRL 2018 post-season casualty ward: Surgery and rehab for stars