Jordan McLean to miss at least 12 weeks with ankle injury, out of Origin I and II

NORTH Queensland man-mountain Jordan McLean has been ruled out for a minimum of 12 weeks and is out of contention for Origin I and II.

Jordan McLEAN Injured NRL Round 4. North Queensland Cowboys Vs Penrith Panthers at 1300smiles Stadium. Picture: Alix Sweeney

JORDAN McLean’s debut Cowboys season is in tatters, with the North Queensland prop to miss the entire State of Origin series and possibly the rest of the year.

McLean will undergo surgery on a foot injury on Monday in Brisbane after limping from 1300SMILES Stadium during last Thursday’s shock 33-14 loss to Penrith.

The NSW Origin hopeful was North Queensland’s big off-season signing, joining the Cowboys from Melbourne to form an all-star engine room with Test stars Matt Scott and Jason Taumalolo.

McLean will miss at least three months with the injury.

However the 26-year-old is facing at least three months on the sidelines, and likely longer, ruling him out of Origin contention for the Blues in 2018.

McLean is believed to have suffered a Lisfranc fracture, one of the most serious foot injuries which can be notoriously tough to recover from.

Cowboys football operations boss Peter Parr said McLean was dealing with the setback well.

“He will have surgery (Monday) in Brisbane,” he said.

“We expect the recovery will be a minimum of three months. We will see how the surgery goes.

“I’ve spoken to him and he is disappointed but has accepted it’s life.

“He will get the surgery done, start the recovery and we will look after him.

“We can’t change it. We’ve got to deal with what’s in front of us.”

McLean was widely tipped to finally crack the State of Origin arena this season.

He was part of the extended Blues squad last year before going on to make his Test debut for the Kangaroos in the World Cup, playing all six of Australia’s matches in the tournament.

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Earlier this season, Scott said McLean was an astute signing for the Cowboys and could lead the club into a new generation.

“He is a quality front rower and great buy for the club,” he said.

“He has fit in really well up here. He will adapt well to the style of footy we play.

“We were always on the lookout for someone of Jordan’s stature. We got one of the better ones running around to be honest.

“I’m really happy the club got to sign him and grateful for the opportunity to play with him.”

The loss of McLean is a massive blow to North Queensland following what has been a poor start to the season.

The Cowboys have a 1-3 record after four rounds and have a daunting trip to New Zealand to face the unbeaten Warriors on Saturday.

In more tough injury news for the Cowboys, reserve grade hooker Josh Chudleigh is suspected to have suffered another season-ending knee injury.

Chudleigh missed the entire 2017 season and is awaiting scans to confirm he requires another knee reconstruction.

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Originally published as Jordan McLean to miss at least 12 weeks with ankle injury, out of Origin I and II