Brisbane put Anthony Milford on ice until NRL season opener following hamstring injury
Brisbane will take the safe approach with Anthony Milford with the star five-eighth on ice until the Broncos season opener after he went down with a hamstring injury.
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Broncos five-eighth Anthony Milford has been put on ice until the NRL premiership after suffering a hamstring injury a month out from the season.
Milford has been on restricted duties this week as he nurses hamstring and shoulder complaints and may not play a trial before the NRL season kicks off.
The hamstring problem is not believed to be serious, but it is another hurdle for Brisbane’s $1 million man to overcome in the lead-up to Round 1.
Milford underwent a second shoulder reconstruction in the off-season and his rehabilitation was tracking smoothly until last week.
The 24-year-old playmaker landed heavily on his suspect shoulder in a training drill captured by television cameras.
Milford, who was sporting a red no-contact singlet at the time, got up gingerly from the incident and soldiered on.
He has since reported the hamstring problem and has been on light duties this week.
Regardless of his fitness, Milford was not expected to play in tonight’s trial match against Souths-Logan in Warwick.
He was slated to feature in next Saturday’s trial against Wynnum-Manly, however that appears unlikely.
“Milf is pretty confident he will be on the park in a couple of weeks,” said Broncos assistant coach Kurt Richards.
“We can only listen to him and the performance staff. He knows his body better than anyone else, so we are pretty hopeful he will be okay.
“My understanding is that (they will rest him next week). I’m pretty sure Milf is keen to play 20-odd minutes next week but I’m pretty sure we will hold him off.”
Milford’s last opportunity to play before the Broncos’ NRL season-opener against Melbourne on March 14 will be in Brisbane’s final trial against the Titans on the Gold Coast on March 2.
The hamstring injury is untimely given new coach Anthony Seibold has overhauled Brisbane’s attacking structure and Milford will get limited time to adjust to the changes.
Seibold has tinkered with the way Milford and halfback Kodi Nikorima will operate, but they may only get a short stint to practice before the Storm season-opener.
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