NRL Casualty Ward Round 7: Huge blow to Roosters, Eels stars

The Roosters and Eels premiership hopes have been dealt a huge blow with both sides losing crucial players to serious injury. ALL THE LATEST INJURY NEWS AND NRL PHYSIO ANALYSIS.

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The Roosters were struck a heavy double blow with Victor Radley and Sam Verrills suffering ACL injuries in their win over the Dragons. Both players went down untouched while changing direction, which is the most common mechanism of injury for ACL ruptures.

This will result in reconstruction surgery and a 6-9 month recovery period for the two Roosters’ forwards, ending their 2020 season. For Verrills this is the second ACL injury of his career, meaning the club may take a slightly more conservative approach with his rehab and return.

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The Roosters have unfortunately lost both Victor Radley and Sam Verrills for the rest of 2020. Picture: AAP.

Overall neither player should miss the start of the 2021 season, however it is worth noting that most players don’t return to their very best until the second season back from an ACL reconstruction.

In a further drain on the Roosters’ forward stocks they will also be without Isaac Liu for at least the next few weeks after he suffered a rib fracture. Rib injuries are some of the most painful a player can suffer, with fractures being right near the top of that list. While pain management will be a major determining factor behind Liu’s return to play, time for adequate bone healing is also a consideration. Most fractures to the ribs result in a 3-4 week return to

play, but sooner than expected returns have been achieved in the cases of minor fractures that respond well to pain relief.

Mitchell Moses was forced from the field with a suspected calf tear. Picture: AAP.

Another premiership favourite was struck down with a high profile injury after Mitch Moses hobbled off during the Eels Round 7 clash. The non-contact injuries continued, with Moses pushing up off the defensive line and pulling up suddenly holding the back of his lower leg. This “push-off” mechanism is commonly associated with calf or Achilles strains, with the Eels medical staff quickly indicating their star halfback had suffered a suspected calf tear.

While this was somewhat of a relief, as Moses had clearly avoided a season ending Achilles rupture, the fact a “tear” was suspected brings concern for a multi-week absence.

“Tear” is usually used to indicate a player has suffered at least a grade 2 muscle strain (which be definition is a partial tear), and if scans confirm this for Moses he would likely be facing a 3-6 week recovery period.

Corey Horsburgh went down awkwardly after bizarre foot injury. Picture: AAP.

In what was a brutal matchup between the Eels and the Raiders, Corey Horsburgh also came off worse for wear after having his foot awkwardly twisted in a tackle. Initially reported as an injury to the arch of his foot, the Raiders’ forward was seen with crutches and his foot heavily iced. Scans once again will help to determine the nature and severity of the injury, but the

traumatic mechanism plus the need for crutches does raise concern for a midfoot sprain or foot fracture.

The Storm five-eighth Cameron Munster played out the first half injured but did not return after the break. Picture: AAP.

The hits kept coming for top 8 sides with Cameron Munster facing time on the sideline after suffering a knee injury. Another victim of the “hip drop” tackle, the Storm five-eighth was held up by two tacklers while a third hit at the hips and dropped his body weight onto Munster’s lower leg. This tackle type has been causing more and more MCL, ACL and syndesmosis injuries in recent times, with scans now required in this case to assess the severity of a suspected MCL sprain.

Initial assessment from the Storm medical staff suggested it was restricted to a grade 1 or 2 sprain, which could see Munster missing anywhere from 1 to 6 weeks depending on the degree of damage.

Matt Lodge has to be helped from the field in the Broncos loss to the Titans. Picture: AAP.

The news at the Broncos does not get any better with Matt Lodge leaving them a man down after suffering a knee injury late in the game. With the Broncos out of substitutions they were unable to replace him, and coach Anthony Seibold revealed post-match Lodge had suffered a suspected meniscus injury.

Surgery is often required if there is a tear to the meniscus, with the most common procedure used a “trim” surgery to remove the damaged portion of meniscus. This would likely result in a 4-8 week recovery period for Lodge if a tear is confirmed.

Jacob Host was a late withdrawal for the Dragons after suffering a hamstring injury in training. While there were many questions over the turf of Bankwest stadium over the weekend, this injury is another indication that the sudden increase in workload from isolation to NRL games in 3 weeks is likely continuing to have an effect on the incidence of lower limb muscle strains.

Hamstring and calf strains in particular have been more common over the first month of football since the season resumed, with the sudden increase and sustained workload likely contributing to cumulative fatigue in some players.

Manly's Tom Trbojevic clutches at his hamstring after an awkward run in his sides win over the Raiders. Picture: Brett Costello.

Tom Trbojevic is another who is looking at a hamstring injury rehab process, with scans during the week revealing a grade 2 strain of his left hamstring muscle with no tendon involvement. It has been well documented the issues the Sea Eagles fullback had with hamstring strains last year, but he looked to have put these behind him after as recently as last week testing “as strong as ever” on some vitally important hamstring strength tests.

Of interest is the somewhat uncommon way in which Trboejvic continues to strain his hamstring. While most hamstring strains occur during high speed straight line running, each of the 3 times Turbo has strained his hamstring he has been changing direction and stepping off his left foot (almost a carbon copy each time). This will give the medical staff something to concentrate on, with this position during running obviously placing an unusual amount of

increased load through his hamstring.

While the Sea Eagles have indicated they are hopeful of a 6-8 week recovery period, this will likely be a fluid timeline as they monitor Trbojevic’s rehab progress. It is always best to err on the side of caution when returning from hamstring strains, and particularly a recurrent strain, so it would not be a surprise to see the return to play time pushed a week or two.

FULL CASUALTY WARD

BRISBANE BRONCOS

Jack Bird (ACL, season)

Jordan Kahu (Shoulder, Mid-season)

Sean O’Sullivan (ACL, Mid-season)

Keenan Palasia (ACL, Late-season)

Jake Turpin (Tibia, Round 8-10)

Kotoni Staggs (Hamstring, 8-10)

Jesse Arthars (Tibia, Round 9-12)

David Fifita (Knee, Round 10-12)

Matt Lodge (Knee, TBC)

Cory Paix (Pectoral, Round 8-9)

CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS

Marcelo Montoya (Hamstring, Round 10)

Chris Smith (Knee, round 11)

Joe Stimson (Shoulder, season)

NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS

Michael Morgan (Shoulder, round 12-14)

John Asiata (Knee, round 8-10)

Valentine Holmes (Ankle, round 8)

ST GEORGE-ILLAWARRA DRAGONS

Jack de Belin (Stood down)

Brayden Williame (Calf, round 10)

Tariq Sims (Wrist, round 10)

Jacob Host (hamstring, TBC)

PARRAMATTA EELS

Kane Evans (Calf, indefinite)

Nathan Brown (Judiciary, round 9)

Mitch Moses (Calf, TBC)

NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS

Mitchell Barnett (Shoulder, Round 8-10)

Jayden Brailey (Knee, Season)

Connor Watson (Ankle, round 8-10)

Bradman Best (COVID-19 protocol breach, Round 8)

Tim Glasby (HIA)

PENRITH PANTHERS

Kurt Capewell (Hamstring, round 16-17)

Josh Mansour (knee, round eight)

Liam Martin (shoulder, TBA)

SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS

Tom Amone (Knee, round 19)

Hame Sele (hamstring, round 8-9)

CANBERRA RAIDERS

John Bateman (Shoulder, round 10-12)

Sebastian Kris (extended leave)

Corey Horsburgh (foot, TBC)

Joseph Tapine (knee, round eight)

SYDNEY ROOSTERS

Billy Smith (ACL, Season)

James Tedesco (HIA, TBC)

Victor Radley (ACL, season)

Sam Verrills (ACL, season)

Isaac Liu (ribs, round 9-11)

MANLY SEA EAGLES

Albert Hopoate (Knee, Round 8)

Manase Fainu (Stood down/shoulder, Indefinite)

Moses Suli (Knuckle, 7-9)

Tom Trbojevic (Hamstring, round 13)

Dylan Walker (Foot, round 15-16)

Brad Parker (HIA, TBC)

CRONULLA SHARKS

Bronson Xerri (Stood down)

Cameron King (ACL, Season)

Ronaldo Mulitalo (Knee, round 9)

MELBOURNE STORM

Tui Kamikamica (Back, round 7-8)

Christian Welch (head knock)

Cameron Munster (knee, round 12-13)

Josh Addo-Carr (HIA)

Kenny Bromwich (HIA)

GOLD COAST TITANS

AJ Brimson (Back, Indefinite)

Beau Fermor (Knee, mid season)

Tyrone Roberts (Ankle, round 8)

Ryan James (ACL, Season)

Young Tonumaipea (Knee, TBC)

Jonus Pearson (pectoral, late season)

NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS

Taane Milne (ACL, Season)

Jazz Tevaga (Calf, round 8-10)

Nathaniel Roache (Knee, Mid-season)

Jackson Frei (ACL, Season)

Bunty Afoa (ACL, Season)

Leeson Ah Mau (Pectoral, season)

Lachlan Burr (HIA, TBC)

David Fusitu’a (HIA, TBC)

Eliesa Katoa (ankle, round 10)

Karl Lawton (head knock)

WESTS TIGERS

Jacob Liddle (Knee, Indefinite)

Russell Packer (Suspended, round 8)

Alex Twal (Knee, TBC)

Robert Jennings (Hamstring, TBC)

Zane Musgrove (Foot, TBC)