{"id":379514,"date":"2024-03-25T21:28:32","date_gmt":"2024-03-25T22:28:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=379514"},"modified":"2024-03-26T00:02:21","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T00:02:21","slug":"pretty-tough-tino-injury-news-rocks-slater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=379514","title":{"rendered":"'Pretty tough' Tino injury news rocks Slater"},"content":{"rendered":"

Q\ufeffueensland coach Billy Slater<\/a> is adamant the Maroons<\/a> "will be fine" despite an emerging injury crisis set to rob the Origin arena of some of the NRL's premier forwards.<\/p>\n

Reacting to the news that Titans skipper \ufeffTino Fa'asuamaleaui would miss the rest of the season<\/a> after rupturing his ACL on Saturday, Slater admitted the Maroons' lengthening injury list was disappointing but added that it was the sidelined players he was concerned about, not Queensland's prospects.<\/p>\n

"It's really unfortunate for Tino," Slater told Nine's The Billy Slater Podcast<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Gallen fumes as NRL admits error in explosive clash<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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"My first thought and care goes out to the player and this isn't the first Queenslander that has had a season-ending injury.<\/p>\n

"We've had Tom Gilbert go down and Jai Arrow is nursing a shoulder that keeps him out indefinitely. When the news came through, it was pretty tough."<\/p>\n

\"Tino<\/p>\n

Gilbert and \ufeffFa'asuamaleaui will both miss the 2024 Origin series, while Arrow's prospects are uncertain, with the Rabbitohs hoping to rehab his injured shoulder with a round eight return in mind. That would potentially give him a month of football before the Queensland team for game one is picked, putting him in the frame for selection if he can make a quick return to top form.<\/p>\n

Another Queensland incumbent, Lindsay Collins, is also on the injury list, although the Roosters star only faces a short stint on the sidelines with a \ufefflow grade hamstring strain<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite the worrying list of middle forwards in the casualty ward, Slater refuses to dwell on the negatives, describing the "opportunity" that had arisen for other Queenslanders to step up.<\/p>\n

Watch the 2024 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Titans<\/p>\n

"Tino's been an integral part of the Queensland State of Origin team for a number of years now and he brings a whole heap to any team he plays in," Slater said.<\/p>\n

"But with injury comes opportunity – someone else will get an opportunity to play for the Titans and another Queenslander will get an opportunity to play in the middle of the field for Queensland this year.<\/p>\n

"My concern goes out to that individual and supporting them with their personal battle through rehab and injury. Queensland will be fine, but it's more about the person that is going through the injury.<\/p>\n

"I've been that person before and I know how hard it is and how excluded you feel at times.\ufeff"<\/p>\n

\"Growing<\/p>\n

With Fa'asuamaleaui out and doubts over Arrow, the responsibility is likely to increase for incumbent middles Reuben Cotter, \ufeffTom Flegler, Patrick Carrigan, Moeaki Fotuaika and Corey Horsburgh.<\/p>\n

Former Origin player Joe Ofahengaue, who has made an impressive start to the season with the Eels, may also come back into the mix.<\/p>\n

While the Maroons have plenty of options to fill roles as middle forwards, the \ufeffFa'asuamaleaui injury is bleak for the Titans, who have firmed as wooden spoon favourites after a rocky start under the coaching of Des Hasler.<\/p>\n

One of the most respected captains in the NRL, \ufeff\ufeffFa'asuamaleaui returned early for pre-season and had spoken glowingly about the changes Hasler had introduced, with predictions of a top eight berth that are now looking far-fetched.<\/p>\n

"These players put everything into their career, they live and breathe it and I believe Tino was one of those players that came back before Christmas, which he wasn't entitled to and he had more time off. It's tough news to hear," Slater said.\ufeff\ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Q\ufeffueensland coach Billy Slater is adamant the Maroons "will be fine" despite an emerging injury crisis set to rob the Origin arena of some of […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":379516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379514"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=379514"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":379519,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379514\/revisions\/379519"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/379516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=379514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=379514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=379514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}