Storm coach Craig Bellamy has admitted he's unsure how serious star Ryan Papenhuyzensuffering a suspected sprain in Melbourne's clash against the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday night.
Just shy of halftime, Papenhuyzen was caught underneath a tackle with teammate Cameron Munster and Gold Coast's AJ Brimson.
The star Storm duo combined to bring down the Titans fullback before Papenhuyzen clutched at his foot and grimaced.
READ MORE: Broncos rocked by season-ending injury to star
READ MORE: Brutal head knock gives debutant special chance
READ MORE: Raiders win after 'one of the plays of the season'
Post-game, Bellamy was unable to provide a definitive answer around the extent of the injury.
"He's certainly not 100 per cent. We aren't quite sure how bad it is," he said in his post-match press conference.
"He's had a plate in that ankle before so he's not quite sure if it's something to do with the plate or something just above the plate.
"He's going to have to go and have a scan and then go from there. I just don't know how much bad luck he can have but anyway it is what it is."
The premiership-winning coach said the team's medical staff was unable to provide a clear indication of the length of time Papenhuyzen may be on the sidelines for.
"We just need to make sure we find out what's wrong and go from there," he said.
"They didn't tell me. We are just concerned that he's got this injury and we need to go from there.
"They want to see the scans first and find out what's wrong before they make any predictions."
Watch the 2024 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and 9Now.
Bellamy noted that potential replacement fullback Sualauvi Faalogo, who played on the wing during the match, was substituted off the field with a knee injury.
"[Faalogo] came off with a knee injury at the end there too… we've had a bad night with injuries," said Bellamy.
"That's why Sua came off the second time. He said he felt something in his knee and we're not quite sure what that is. We will have to check that out too."
Heading into the game, the Storm were already without Jonah Pezet, Tepai Moeroa, Chris Lewis, Xavier Coates and Tui Kamikamica.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.