Brisbane Broncos star Corey Oates suffers hand injury during pre-season training

One of the men who will lead Kevin Walters’ Broncos revolution has suffered a pre-season setback which will hamper his preparations for the 2021 season.

Xavier Coates celebrates with Corey Oates after scoring a try last season.

Broncos star Corey Oates will have scans on his left hand on Monday with fears he may have fractured it during a routine training drill.

The 26-year-old suffered the injury when he attempted to make a tackle during the club’s defensive session on Wednesday afternoon, forcing him to sit out of Thursday and Friday’s full contact training.

Oates has had his hand wrapped as a precaution since the incident and was restricted to light duties during training at Red Hill.

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Corey Oates during pre-season training at Red Hill. Photo: Annette Dew

He is set to see a specialist on Monday to assess the severity of the injury, however coach Kevin Walters is hopeful he won’t be ruled out for the season opener in March.

Oates has been unlucky with injury in the past 12 months, with the latest setback following a nasty leg injury in Round 10 last year against the Tigers.

He was also hospitalised during pre-season training this time last year after suffering a staph infection in his leg over the 2019 Christmas break.

The infection saw the tall timber lose six kilograms from his towering frame.

Oates has been training with the forwards so far this pre-season as Walters prepares to shift the try-scoring machine into the backrow for the 2021 season.

The Broncos’ Monday pre-season training has also been scrapped following Brisbane’s long weekend lockdown to stop the spread of a mutant COVID strain.

The Queensland Government announced on Friday that the Greater Brisbane area would undergo a three-day lockdown, forcing residents to remain indoors until Monday evening.

The lockdown has forced the Brisbane club to cancel its planned Monday session and is expecting to return on Tuesday if restrictions are eased.

Walters said he had been impressed by his playing group in their first days back from the Christmas break.

“It’s only early days but a very positive period for us over the Christmas break,” Walters said.