Kieran Foran’s nightmare season ends due to injury, Lachlan Lewis to earn NRL debut
THE BULLDOGS’ horror season continues with news Kieran Foran will miss the rest of the season - but the Bulldogs are set to debut the sun of rugby league royalty.
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CANTERBURY have been dealt another blow with news marquee signing Kieran Foran has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a toe injury.
Foran suffered the injury against the Wests Tigers in round 12 and initially he was set to be sidelined for between 2-4 weeks.
Bulldogs players had been given four-days off over the representative round and returned to training on Monday morning.
It’s understood Foran, who was set to return against the Newcastle Knights this weekend, only lasted about 10 minutes into Monday morning’s training session before pulling up limp.
The club had hoped to manage the injury without going under the knife but after he aggravated it on Monday, medical staff decided surgery would be the best option going forward.
In a statement, the Bulldogs confirmed Foran required a reconstruction of the ligaments in the toe of his left foot.
It’s expected he will spend at least six weeks in a moon boot before being moved onto a rehab program.
Coach Dean Pay will wield the axe on Tuesday afternoon when he names his side to take on the Knights on Saturday in Newcastle.
Young five-eighth Lachlan Lewis, the nephew of league legend Wally Lewis, looks set to make his NRL debut at the expense of Matt Frawley.
Frawley has emerged as the casualty of the Bulldogs’ dismal performance against the Titans at Belmore in round 15.
Frawley’s axing was meant to see Lewis partner Foran in the halves with Jeremy Marshall-King moving into the number nine jumper and hooker Michael Lichaa to come off the bench.
But Foran’s injury means Marshall-King will retain his spot in the halves and Lichaa his spot in the starting side.
Lewis had been pencilled in for his debut since Foran first suffered the toe injury but he required special dispensation by the NRL because he is not part of the top 30 players on the roster at the Bulldogs.
The governing body denied the request saying the Bulldogs had other avenues to cover the loss of Foran.
But Moses Mbye’s departure from Belmore means the club now has the salary cap capacity to meet the requirements needed to add Lewis onto the top 30 roster via a top-up to his contract.
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