Valentine Holmes played eight minutes with a suspected broken leg on Friday night as he tried desperately to keep the club’s season alive.
The injury will rule him out of the end-of-year Test series for Australia, but he will be back for round one with his new club, St George Illawarra, in 2025.
There were concerns Holmes may have suffered a serious knee injury, or potentially snapped his Achilles tendon, after he went down in pain just before full-time during Friday night’s 26-18 loss to Cronulla.
Any long-term injury would have had immediate ramifications for the Dragons, who have signed Holmes to a three-year, $2.5 million deal.
However, Cowboys coach Todd Payten confirmed on Saturday Holmes had broken his fibula, which they believe he did in the 69th minute when he scored a try, only to play on knowing North Queensland’s finals hopes were slipping away.
“He’s broken his fibula – it’s not the way he wanted to finish in the [Cowboys] jersey,” Payten said. “We’re unsure if he’s cracked it when he scored, or properly broken it when he started to take off [later in the game].
Valentine Holmes leaves the field in agony on Friday night.Credit: Getty
“We’re not quite sure. He was certainly aware of it. He gave it a good shot [playing on]. He’s on the plane with us this morning.
“Seven guys needed injections prior to the game on Friday night. Kulikefu Finefeuiaki has been playing with a broken thumb the last couple of weeks.
“Everyone goes through it at this time of year. It’s a tough game. They put themselves through the wringer. We try to look after them as best we can through the week. They understand sometimes they have to play hurt; they turn up for their teammates and club, and playing under duress is part of our game, particularly at this time of the year. I’m proud of all the lads.”
Dragons coach Shane Flanagan feared the worst when watching the game, but was relieved after speaking with his star recruit first thing Saturday.
“Val’s toughness is something that goes unnoticed,” Flanagan said. “He’s not the biggest body, but he played well and truly above his weight. Friday night he showed that mental toughness to play injured.
“I’m just glad it’s nothing worse. At least he gets a spell and won’t play in the rep teams, you’d think.
“I knew it was an impact injury when watching the game. Usually ACLs aren’t impact injuries – they happen when there’s nobody around. Then they mentioned achilles [on the TV commentary], so some bad thoughts went through my head.
“All our staff were saying it may have been a fracture to the fibula. They were straight on to it.
“I spoke to him this morning. He said he was walking around OK; he was in a boot, but he wouldn’t know the full extent until he has scans back in Townsville.”
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