NRL Casualty Ward: Stars set to return, Keary’s positive news

A host of superstars are set to return from injury, but Canberra has been hit with two pieces of bad news. Meanwhile there’s a boost for for Sydney Roosters playmaker Luke Keary. FULL INJURY LIST FOR EVERY CLUB

Our man in the know, Brien Seeney aka @nrlphysio, provides expert analysis of all the latest injury news in the game.

Jordan Kahu is facing 6 weeks on the sideline with a report he suffered a suspected grade 3 (complete rupture) AC joint injury in the final play of the Cowboys win over the Titans. The AC joint is the tip of the shoulder, and is commonly injured during a direct blow to the shoulder such as during a tackle or landing on the ground shoulder-first. Thankfully even a complete rupture of the AC joint ligaments often does not require surgery, with a usual recovery range of 4-8 weeks in the NRL. There have been cases of players coming back even sooner than this if the pain can be controlled.

The injuries kept piling up for the Cowboys yesterday with Gideon Gela-Mosby only lasting a half, leaving with a suspected fractured collarbone. This is an important bone in contact sports, and if fractured it is even more important to allow for complete healing before returning to play. As such the usual recovery range is quite varied, with most NRL players requiring anywhere from 4-10 weeks.

Panthers prop Tim Grant suffered a grade 2 pectoral tear in the Panthers Round 12 game. Grant will have a specialist review early next week, but at this stage the club expects he will require surgery with a specific recovery time to be determined. A grade 2 muscle injury indicates a partial tear, with surgery not only required when a full rupture occurs. If the severity of the partial tear is too great that the medical staff believe there is a significant risk of a full rupture occurring in the future, surgery to repair the torn pec is still often the treatment choice. Surgery to repair a partial pec tear usually requires the same recovery time as a completely ruptured pec, which in the NRL is 10-14 weeks.

Canberra’s Hudson Young is facing up to seven weeks on the sidelines after being charged by the NRL match review committee for an alleged eye gouge on Canterbury’s Aiden Tolman.

The rookie Raiders forward will be suspended for five weeks if he accepts an early guilty plea to a grade three dangerous contact - head/neck charge. He risks spending seven weeks on the sidelines if he fights the charge at the judiciary and loses.

The 20-year-old was charged for a first-half incident in which his hand made contact with the Bulldogs prop’s face.

Tolman reeled out of the tackle, clutching at his eye and complained to the on- field referees.

“I asked Hudson what it was. And he put his hand on his face did he? I don’t know,” Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said after the match.

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Young’s Raiders teammate Corey Horsburgh will definitely spend time on the sidelines after he was injured in the win over the Bulldogs’

The Raiders on Sunday revealed Horsburgh fractured his elbow in the first half, but played out the remainder of the match.

The club said the 21-year-old wouldn’t require surgery but would miss up to three weeks.

Manase Fainu was able to tough out a broken nose suffered in the warm up to play 27 minutes for the Sea Eagles. This is an injury that rarely requires players to miss games, with even the most severe usually only resulting in a game or two on the sidelines. As long as the bleeding can be controlled and the player’s breathing isn’t obstructed many will continue playing. There is usually minimal chance of long term damage, with any surgical repair often left til after retirement.

Manase Fainu of the Sea Eagles played in round 12 despite breaking his nose in the warm up. Picture: AAP Image/Dean Lewins

Some positive news with extensive testing and a review with a leading neurosurgeon showing no evidence of potential long term concerns for Luke Keary after his latest concussion. Keary has suffered 5 concussions in the past 18 months and 2 this season. It’s been recommended he miss the next 6 weeks. A common saying is concussions are like snowflakes; no 2 are the same. Any injury to the brain should be considered serious but signs & symptoms can vary greatly. While approximately 70% of players are able to return in 7-10 days, concussion symptoms can be delayed and intermittent. We have seen in the NRL a player will often fail a HIA during the game, not return that day, but play the following week. But symptoms can also be persistent or prolonged resulting in multiple weeks on the sideline (recent examples include Ryan Matterson and Isaac De Gois). Keary’s symptoms will no doubt be monitored over the next 6 weeks, and while a rest for at least 6 weeks is expected it very well could be longer if any symptoms persist. It’s great to see the Roosters take a conservative approach to Keary’s return to the field.

Tom Trbojevic would be a welcome return for the Sea Eagles. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett

While Round 12 has been relatively injury free so far, there are many injured NRL stars expected to return to the field in Round 13. Tom Trbojevic (hamstring), Nathan Brown (pectoral), Nathan Peats (pectoral), Christian Welch (meniscus), Shaun Johnson (hamstring), and Wade Graham (ACL) are all a good chance to return after extended absences.

Shaun Johnson is a good chance to return for the Sharks this week. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

Always good to finish with some positive injury news, and this week it was the story of the returns from ACL injury. Adam Doueihi had a successful return for the Rabbitohs on Friday night, just over 9 months after undergoing an ACL reconstruction.

Doueihi’s teammate Connor Tracey made his NRL debut in the same game, which is a wonderful story of determination and hard work after Tracey suffered 3 ACL injuries in 3 years earlier in his career.

Finally Sam McKendry made a return to Canterbury Cup last week from a similar position to Tracey. McKendry required a 2 stage ACL reconstruction surgery last year after his 3rd ACL injury in 3 seasons. There were reports earlier this year that McKendry was considering retirement, but he was able to push through his rehab and achieved an injury free return to the field last week. Wonderful news all around.

FULL NRL CASUALTY WARD

BRONCOS

Jack Bird (ACL, Season)

Andrew McCullough (Knee, Round 14-16)

Thomas Flegler (Back, TBC)

BULLDOGS

Jayden Okunbor (Foot, Round 15-17)

COWBOYS

Ben Hampton (Biceps, Round 22-25)

Enari Tuala (Quad, Round 13)

Te Maire Martin (Bleed on brain, Indefinite)

Nene MacDonald (Ankle, Season)

Matt Scott (Shoulder, Round 15-17)

Justin O’Neill (Spleen, TBC)

DRAGONS

Gareth Widdop (Shoulder, Round 20)

Jack de Belin (Stood down, Indefinite)

Corey Norman (Cheekbone, Round 13-14)

James Graham (Leg, Round 19-20)

Tim Lafai (Ankle, TBC)

EELS

Dylan Brown (Back, Indefinite)

Nathan Brown (Pectoral, Round 14)

Kaysa Pritchard (Personal leave, Indefinite)

KNIGHTS

Mitchell Pearce (Groin, TBC)

Danny Levi (Ankle, TBC)

Slade Griffin (Knee, Indefinite)

Aidan Guerra (Ankle, Round 20-23)

Nathan Ross (Foot, Retired)

PANTHERS

Dean Whare (Hamstring, Round 15-17)

Waqa Blake (Knee, Round 16-20)

Malakai Watene-Zelezniak (Rib cartilage, Round 13)

Tyrone May (Stood Down, Indefinite)

Wayde Egan (Shoulder, Round 13)

Jed Cartwright (Shoulder, Round 14)

Tim Grant (Pec, TBC)

RABBITOHS

Greg Inglis (Shoulder, Retired)

Braidon Burns (Hamstring, Round 13-15)

Kyle Turner (Toe, Round 14-15)

Alex Johnston (Knee, Round 13-14)

Cory Denniss (Shoulder, round 20)

Kurt Dillon (Ankle, Indefinite)

RAIDERS

Joey Leilua (Bulging disc, Season)

Jordan Rapana (Knee, Round 13-14)

Josh Hodgson (Thumb, Round 16-19)

Brad Abbey (Knee, Season)

Luke Bateman (Knee, Round 13)

Hudson Young (Suspension, TBC)

Corey Horsburgh (Elbow, Round 15-16)

ROOSTERS

Luke Keary (Concussion, Round 17-18)

Brett Morris (Knee, Round 13)

Jake Friend (Biceps, Round 19-22)

Lachlan Lam (Wrist, Round 14-16)

SHARKS

Aaron Woods (Foot, Round 16)

Wade Graham (Knee, Round 13)

Shaun Johnson (Hamstring, Round 13)

SEA EAGLES

Lachlan Croker (Hamstring, Round 13)

Moses Suli (Finger, Round 13-15)

Toafofoa Sipley (Knee, Season)

Tom Trbojevic (Hamstring, Round 13)

Albert Hopoate (ACL, Season)

Trent Hodkinson (Knee, Round 13)

Brad Parker (Broken jaw, Round 16-18)

STORM

Christian Welch (Knee, Round 14-16)

Curtis Scott (Foot, Round 22)

Scott Drinkwater (Pectoral, Round 14)

Tom Eisenhuth (Throat, Indefinite)

Dale Finucane (Concussion, Round 13)

TIGERS

Chris Lawrence (Broken jaw, Round 14)

Josh Reynolds (Knee, Round 13)

TITANS

Michael Gordon (Leg, Round 13)

Philip Sami (Ankle, Indefinite)

Nathan Peats (Pectoral, Round 14-16)

Ryan James (ACL, season)

WARRIORS

Nathaniel Roache (Back, Round 13)

Agnatius Paasi (Suspension, Round 13)

Jazz Tevaga (Ankle, TBC)