‘Terrible news’: Jarrod Croker to miss remainder of 2022 season

Canberra Raiders captain Jarrod Croker will miss the remainder of the 2022 season due to a shoulder injury he sustained last month.

Jarrod Croker of the Raiders. Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Canberra Raiders co-captain Jarrod Croker will miss the remainder of the 2022 season due to a shoulder injury he sustained last month.

The 31-year-old’s long-awaited return to the NRL ended in heartbreaking scenes, gingerly walking off the field with his jersey acting as a sling after attempting to prevent a try late in Canberra’s Round 9 victory over the Canterbury Bulldogs.

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Croker, who is just eight matches away from reaching the coveted 300-game milestone, was playing his first NRL match since Round 22 last year.

He was seemingly on the mend before dislocating it while reaching for his TV remote at home a few weeks later.

“Talk about a hard-luck story, he’s a champion player and a champion bloke as well,” 7NEWS reporter Michelle Bishop told SEN last week.

“This hardly seems fair, he was set to make his return this weekend against the Eels after suffering a shoulder injury against the Dogs in round nine.

Jarrod Croker of the Raiders. Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images

“He didn’t have surgery, he was right to go and told Ricky (Stuart) that he was ready.

“He wasn’t at training from a heavy knock or a heavy tackle, he did it at home just around the house.

“He called the club doctor who came and popped it back in. It was quite a traumatic experience for the family.”

On Friday afternoon, the Raiders confirmed that Croker would require shoulder surgery in the coming weeks, ruling him out of the rest of the season.

Unfortunate confirmation that Jarrod Croker requires a shoulder reconstruction after dislocating his shoulder twice in the past month, ending his season. The reconstruction repairs damaged structures & stabilises joint to minimise risk of future dislocation. Wish Croker the best pic.twitter.com/W4JCl0TXmN

— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) June 3, 2022

Terrible news for Jarrod Croker https://t.co/69uh71Mplb

— Brad Walter (@BradWalterSport) June 3, 2022

Croker, who is contracted at Canberra until 2024, has represented the Raiders in 292 matches since making his NRL debut in 2009, sitting second on the club’s all-time games list behind Jason Croker on 318.

There were concerns he would be forced into medical retirement last year after undergoing stem-cell surgery on his knee.

The Raiders will next face the Sydney Roosters at Canberra’s GIO Stadium on Sunday, with kick-off scheduled for 4.05pm AEST.