‘That’s spasming’: Cameron Munster in doubt for Origin after sickening injury
Cameron Munster has reaggravated a nasty injury and was left writhing in pain in scenes that put him in doubt for State of Origin.
Cameron Munster is set for a stint on the sidelines after suffering a serious injury in Melbourne’s win at Magic Round that also casts doubt over his availability for the State of Origin series.
Munster has been managing a nagging groin injury in the early part of the season and he appeared to reaggravate the injury late in the first half of the Storm’s clash with Parramatta on Sunday.
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The Storm five-eighth twinged his groin innocuously in defence, and when he tackled Parramatta’s Bryce Cartwright in the last minute of the first half he was in excruciating pain, writhing around on the Suncorp Stadium turf.
“He’s just about gone, Cam Munster,” Fox League commentator Dan Ginnane said.
“Oh geez, that’s spasming.”
Play was stopped as Munster lay on the ground before being helped off the field. He removed strapping from around his groin and replaced it with ice as he sat on the bench.
Watch Cameron Munster’s sickening injury in the video above
In a sorry sight for Storm fans, sitting behind him was Ryan Papenhuyzen, who sustained a fracture in his foot earlier this month.
“I can’t believe the number of stars we’ve got sitting on the sideline,” Greg Alexander said.
“Even the Melbourne Storm with Ryan Papenhuyzen, Jahrome Hughes and now Cameron Munster.”
The sight of Munster convulsing at the scene of his many State of Origin triumphs was a brutal one for Storm and Queensland Maroons fans, just over two weeks out from the Origin series opener in Sydney.
The Melbourne Storm said Munster had strained his abductor (muscles around the hip and glutes) and he would be assessed and go for scans.
Munster won the Wally Lewis Medal as the best player in the 2020 Origin series and he would be one of the first picked in coach Billy Slater’s team.
Fox League host Lara Pitt said: “Billy Slater’s head will be spinning.”
“It looked like he just got overstretched there,” Corey Parker said.
“Then a couple of moments later we saw Cameron Munster in immense pain on the ground.
“He grabs at his groin right there. Then it’s the play after when he goes into the tackle. He lays on the ground and he reels in pain.
“That looks really severe. The way he’s carried on there would suggest either something has pulled away off the bone or something has seriously pulled in the groin area.
“Huge concerns for Cam Munster, the Melbourne Storm and the Queensland State of Origin team.
“That’s really concerning. That was like a real jerk reaction to be like ‘something’s not right here’ and leave the field.”
Harry Grant lifted in Munster’s absence and the Storm showed strong depth to run away with the game and claim a dominant 48-16 win over Parramatta.
But if Munster is required to undergo surgery, it would be a major blow to the Storm’s premiership aspirations and Queensland’s hopes of third consecutive Origin series win.
The 29-year-old won premierships with the Storm in 2017 and 2020 and has played 18 games for the Maroons.
“He missed a number of games at the start of the season and they couldn’t get to the root of the problem,” Alexander said.
“It looks like something he’s going to have to battle throughout the season before he can have surgery. He might require to have something done about it now.
“That’s a massive concern, a huge story.”
Originally published as ‘That’s spasming’: Cameron Munster in doubt for Origin after sickening injury
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