NRL 2020: Brisbane Broncos hit with fresh injury blow as Alex Glenn cops hamstring injury
Brisbane’s tumultuous off-season has been rounded out with an injury that could force a round-one shake-up to their team to face North Queensland.
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The Broncos have suffered another blow on the eve of the NRL season after captain Alex Glenn confirmed he was in danger of missing Brisbane’s Round 1 showdown with North Queensland.
Glenn has enlisted a secret weapon in his fight to overcome a hamstring injury in time for the blockbuster NRL season-opener on Friday week at the new Townsville Stadium.
The Broncos rounded out a tumultuous pre-season with a poor 28-22 defeat to the Gold Coast Titans at Redcliffe on Saturday night.
Brisbane’s pre-season has been littered with off-field controversies and the team is now reeling from injuries to star prop Matt Lodge (knee) and Glenn, compounded by a two-game disciplinary suspension to Origin forward Joe Ofahengaue.
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Glenn, 31, aggravated a hamstring injury in Brisbane’s trial loss to the Cowboys last weekend and has been seeing a private acupuncturist to fast-track his recovery.
But the Broncos’ new captain admitted he was no certainty to take the field in Round 1.
“I’m tracking really well (but) I don’t want to be here saying I am going to be ready to go in Round 1 and make that promise and then I’m not ready for Round 1,” he said.
“I can’t give away my secrets but I am doing extras with our rehab coaches and I have some outside men who are helping me out.
“I have a few people in my circle who have looked after my body well and keep me competing with the younger guys.
“Ideally I want to get out there and be ready for Round 1. There is still a road I have to take to make sure I am fit.
“I am taking it each day at a time and so far things are progressing really well. I am confident but I have to keep it going.
“I can’t push it and then it gets worse. At my age I have to be smart.
“The physio said you will heal to 80 per cent really fast and then the last 10 to 20 per cent you have to be really smart and make sure you are 100 per cent.
“I have been around the traps for a long time and when it’s not feeling right, I am aware of it. I am taking it a day at a time and it’s improving how I want it to.”
In isolation, Glenn’s injury would not be critical, but the Broncos need all hands on deck following a poor lead-up to the season.
After bombing out in last year’s finals with a horrific 58-0 loss to Parramatta, the Broncos’ pre-season woes started in November when rising star David Fifita was locked up in a Bali jail for three days.
Last month, rugby convert Izaia Perese was stood down after being charged with alleged drugs offences by police and Ofahengaue pleaded guilty to an alcohol-related traffic offence, earning a two-game ban from the NRL.
Lodge, the team’s forward pack leader, is sidelined indefinitely as he attempts to salvage his season after suffering a partial ACL tear in his knee.
A stacked Broncos team performed poorly at the NRL Nines in Perth before they were beaten late by North Queensland in a wet trial in Cairns.
The Broncos then surrendered a 16-0 lead to lose to the enthusiastic Titans at Dolphin Stadium, completing an unconvincing pre-season campaign.
Glenn’s 259 games of NRL experience would be handy against the Cowboys, but Broncos coach Anthony Seibold admitted he may not get that luxury.
“Alex is our club captain and an experienced player, we missed his leadership out there (against the Titans),” he said.
“We will give him an opportunity to recover, it’s a marathon not a sprint, so if he’s 50-50 we won’t be silly, as much as we would love him there for Round 1.
“Lexi is a good pro so he is doing everything he can to be fit.”
Originally published as NRL 2020: Brisbane Broncos hit with fresh injury blow as Alex Glenn cops hamstring injury