NRL 2024: Injured Dolphins star Tom Flegler’s season all but over, concerns career in jeopardy

Wayne Bennett is resigned to losing Dolphins enforcer Tom Flegler for the remainder of the season and concedes the representative prop’s career could be in jeopardy.

Mystery shoulder injury could end Thomas Flegler’s season. Picture: NRL Images

Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett says Tom Flegler may not play again this season and concedes there is a “real chance” the Queensland Origin prop’s career is in jeopardy due to a freak shoulder injury.

Bennett opened up about the frustration surrounding Flegler’s injury battle as the former Broncos enforcer fights to save his NRL career at the age of 24.

Flegler suffered nerve damage to his shoulder against the Wests Tigers in round 5 and was hoping to miss only a week after being ruled out of the Queensland derby against the Broncos.

But after missing the Battle of Brisbane in round 6, Flegler has not been seen since, with Dolphins medicos unable to identify a return date and conceding season-ending surgery is an option.

The Dolphins are doing everything possible to get Flegler back on the park, but Bennett revealed his star recruit’s 2024 season, Origin series - and entire playing future - is under a cloud.

Asked if Flegler’s career is in danger, Bennett said: “It could be, it’s pretty serious.

Mystery shoulder injury could end Thomas Flegler’s season. Picture: NRL Images

“We don’t think he will play this year and next year is another issue.

“Nerves are a very difficult thing for doctors to treat, so we’re hoping Tom gets back on the field, but we don’t know when that could be.

“The nerve just hasn’t come back to where it should be.

“Hopefully his career is OK, but there is a real chance Tom may not play again.”

The prospect of losing Flegler for the rest of the season, and potentially even longer, would be a crushing blow for the Dolphins given the club’s grand plans for him.

The Maroons hardman joined Redcliffe from the Broncos this season on a four-year, $3 million deal and Bennett viewed Flegler as the front-row intimidator around whom the Dolphins could build their club.

But after just four games for the Dolphins, including his 100th NRL match against the Tigers in April, Flegler’s career is in limbo.

The worst-case scenario is early retirement, but the Dolphins remain optimistic it will not come to that.

The Dolphins are leaving no stone unturned to fix Flegler, including using red-light therapy (RLT), a treatment aimed at increasing blood flow and accelerating healing to an injured site.

Flegler has had two nerve-conduction tests in the past seven weeks. The results showed the nerve in his shoulder is not completely dead, but not responding sufficiently to risk career-ending damage if he returned to the field.

Wayne Bennett admits Tom Flegler’s career could be in jeopardy. Picture: NRL

Adding to the frustration, Flegler is able to train on a daily basis - he sought medical clearance to play against Canberra a fortnight ago - but Dolphins doctors are taking a cautious approach.

Should the damaged nerve fail to heal, Flegler will undergo nerve-transfer surgery in a bid to resurrect his career.

But there are no guarantees Flegler will make a full recovery from what appeared an innocuous “burner” to his shoulder against the Tigers.

Speaking to this masthead last month, Dolphins high-performance chief Jeremy Hickmans said Flegler was a week-to-week proposition.

“It’s a bit of a new injury for all of us,” Hickmans said.

“It’s hard to put an exact date on when Tom plays again.

“Tomorrow morning he could turn up and everything is good, but he could take another six to eight weeks.

“The hit stretched the actual nerve and when that happens, the nerve just stops and says, ‘I don’t want to work’.

“Structurally it’s all good, it’s just getting this nerve back working.

“The worst-case scenario is that Tom could need surgery, but we’re not playing on that at the moment.

Thomas Flegler celebrates scoring. Picture: NRL Photos

“You wouldn’t think anything is wrong with him in the gym until he has to do certain movements.

“It’s possible you could put Tom out there but the risk for him is pretty high at the moment.”

There was speculation Flegler and the Dolphins have discussed medical-retirement options, but that is not the case.

Under NRL rules, any payout from a medical retirement is not included in the salary cap.

Tigers forward Simon Dwyer was forced to retire in 2012, aged just 22, after nerve damage in his shoulder, but it’s understood Flegler’s condition is nowhere near as serious.

Specialists have told Flegler he has an excellent chance of recovery if he undergoes nerve-transfer surgery.

The Dolphins last week signed Tevita Pangai Jr as cover for Flegler and boom Wests Tigers prop Stefano Utoikamanu, off-contract next year, is set to go to free agency on November 1.

Leading Brisbane-based physiotherapist Brien Seeney, who runs the popular NRL Physio social-media account, says nerve injuries are notoriously complex.

The former Bronco joined the Dolphins in 2024. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

“Nerve injuries are known to have slower healing times than the more commonly seen sporting injuries to muscles, ligaments or tendons,” Seeney said.

“It would be a slow and frustrating rehab process for Flegler.

“As much as thorough treatment and rehab are important, often it’s just more time needed to allow for the nerves to heal.

“The nerves he has injured are really important for arm and hand function.

“A minor injury to those nerves, in the form of a bruise or stretch, will just result in a ‘burner/stinger’ type injury we see every weekend in the NRL.

“But major damage, in the form of a tear, can result in permanent strength and function loss in the arm.

“We’ve seen that worst case in Simon Dwyer, who still wears a sling today after tearing five nerves in his neck and shoulder in 2011.

“Obviously Flegler’s injury is nowhere near that bad, but it just shows how much damage to those nerves can affect function.”

Originally published as NRL 2024: Injured Dolphins star Tom Flegler’s season all but over, concerns career in jeopardy