‘Horrible’: Canberra Raiders young gun Xavier Savage cops injury blow

The Canberra Raiders will be searching for a new fullback after teenage phenom Xavier Savage suffered a season-ending blow.

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA - JULY 17: Xavier Savage of the Raiders runs with the ball during the round 18 NRL match between the Canberra Raiders and the Cronulla Sharks at Cbus Super Stadium, on July 17, 2021, in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Regi Varghese/Getty Images)

Canberra Raiders youngster Xavier Savage has been ruled out of the remainder of the 2021 season following an unfortunate AC shoulder joint injury against the Cronulla Sharks.

Savage suffered the injury after Sharks forward Briton Nikora tackled him late in the second half of Saturday’s 34-18 victory at Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast.

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On Tuesday afternoon, the Raiders confirmed the 19-year-old required surgery on his left shoulder and would not return until 2022.

Hate to see this. Would’ve been great to see him in lime green a few more times at least this year.

Can’t wait to see him back in action in 2022 https://t.co/6f1CkTY53F

— Zac Bailey (@ZacBailey14) July 20, 2021

Horrible news for Xavier Savage, with his AC joint injury worse than expected. Will require surgery which ends his 2021 season. AC joint injuries rarely require surgery so damage must be significant, quite the effort to finish the game with it. Usual recovery time: 3-5 months pic.twitter.com/q07ilIrW7T

— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) July 20, 2021

The @RaidersCanberra Xavier Savage out for the remainder of the season is very disappointing news. Hope he comes back bigger and better next year. @FOXNRL@fanfoxleague@VossySEN

— Andrew Voss (@AndrewVossy) July 20, 2021

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Savage scored his maiden first-grade try against Cronulla on the weekend in his second official appearance for the Raiders.

The teenage winger ran onto the field at halftime for Canberra’s Round 15 game against the Dragons, but his debut ended 11 minutes because of a bizarre error from the match officials.

Meanwhile, Origin star Jack Wighton will also be unavailable for Thursday evening’s match against the Parramatta Eels on the Gold Coast as he continues recovering from a rib complaint.