Titans skipper Ryan James ruled out for season with knee injury
Just as the Gold Coast looked to be turning their season around, the Titans have suffered a devastating blow with skipper Ryan James ruled out for the season.
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Gold Coast skipper Ryan James has been ruled out for the season in a devastating blow for the club.
The Titans have been dealt a fresh setback ahead of Saturday’s clash against the Tigers as they look to make it three wins in a row for the first time since 2017.
The 193cm prop forward James was ruled out for six months after scans revealed a ruptured ACL in his right knee.
The injury came in the 12th minute of Easter Sunday’s clash against Newcastle after James collided with Knights hooker Danny Levi and had to be carried from the field.
The club said James will undergo surgery once he meets with his surgeon.
James’ injury comes after dummy-half Nathan Peats was ruled out for up to three months with a torn pectoral muscle while Kevin Proctor (hip) and Keegan Hipgrave (back) were also ruled out through injury last week.
Titans coaching staff are confident Proctor and Hipgrave will be fit to return this weekend while Shannon Boyd was named to start in the No.8 jersey.
The loss of James opens the door for Titans’ young gun Moeaki Fotuaika, who will replace James in the No.10 jersey.
Fotuaika said it was an unfortunate incident but he was confident the Titans’ forward pack could cover the loss.
“It’s a bit unlucky what happened to Ryan,” Fotuaika said. “But we’ve definitely got a lot of players that can fill in that position.”
He said the Titans were wary of a “fired up” Wests Tigers side who were drubbed 51-6 against Parramatta on Monday afternoon.
“(The Tigers) didn’t really play too well so they’ll be fired up this week to put in a good performance this week to get their season back on track.
“Hopefully we can match them and put in another good performance.
“It was good to get a win on Sunday and hopefully we can keep playing good footy.”
Originally published as Titans skipper Ryan James ruled out for season with knee injury
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