NRL 2024, Injuries, suspension, return dates, casualty ward and key information for the 2024 NRL Telstra Premiership season

NRL Casualty Ward: Paps, Boyd injured; Murray to miss Origin; Reynolds set for surgery

Author: NRL.com
Timestamp: Sat 4 May 2024, 06:44 PM

Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen was on crutches after hobbling from the field just before halftime in Saturday night's match against the Titans with an ankle injury.

Papenhuyzen suffered the injury as he chased Titans opposite AJ Brimson to force a goal line drop out and immediately grabbed at his right ankle.

Footage from the dressing room cameras showed Papenhuyzen unable to put weight on his ankle as he hopped to showers and he was on crutches, with his foot in a moon boot after the break.

He will go for scans but the initial diagnosis is that Papenhuyzen has suffered a syndesmosis injury, ruling him out of NSW Origin contention.

Titans halfback Tanah Boyd came from the field with a wrist injury in the eighth minute and did not return.

South Sydney captain Cameron Murray has been ruled out of the NSW team for the opening State of Origin match on June 5 at Accor Stadium with a hip flexor injury.

Murray suffered the injury in Thursday night's loss to the Panthers and the Rabbitohs have announced that he will be sidlelined for 6-8 weeks.

Broncos captain Adam Reynolds will undergo surgery and miss 12-14 weeks after he suffered a torn biceps on Friday night against the Roosters.

The veteran halfback suffered the injury as he was attempting to make a tackle early in the second half.

Reynolds had his left arm in a sling post-match and could be seen being consoled by both teammates and members of the Roosters.

“Adam had a scan today at the Clive Berghofer Qscan Facility which showed a ruptured bicep," Broncos head of performance Dave Ballard said on Saturday. "He will have surgery early this week and be out for 12-14 weeks.”

It was part of a costly night for the Broncos who also lost winger Jesse Arthars to a broken jaw earlier in the match, after a tackle attempt on opposite number Dom Young went wrong.

“Jesse sustained a fractured jaw and underwent surgery today. He will miss 6 weeks," Ballard said.

Meanwhile, Roosters coach Trent Robinson said it was a precautionary measure to keep hooker Brandon Smith out of the game after he suffered a calf "niggle" midway through the first half.

A blow for the Titans early in their clash against Melbourne with five-eighth Tanah Boyd forced off with a wrist injury.

The Wests Tigers and Cowboys both lost key players ahead of their respective Round 9 clashes, with Api Koroisau and Chad Townsend withdrawing due to injury.

Koroisau failed to overcome the lower back injury he picked up in the previous week's loss to the Broncos and pulled out from the squad to play the Bulldogs on Friday night.

A knee injury saw Townsend withdraw from Todd Payten's side 24 hours out from them playing host to the Dolphins at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.

Earlier in the round the Rabbitohs were dealt a double blow in their loss to the Panthers on Thursday night with halfback Dean Hawkins and fullback Jye Gray ruled out with injuries.

"It's not good. Jye looks like he's got a syndesmosis and Dean's got a quad strain so not ideal," interim coach Ben Hornby said post-match.

The Rabbitohs have called in Gehamat Shibasaki to their NRL squad from Townsville Blackhawks on a week-to-week basis to help cover the club’s current injury toll.

The Panthers opted not to play Nathan Cleary against the Rabbitohs in Round 9 as he continues to work back to full strength following a recent layoff with a hamstring injury.

The club said their star No.7 has been rested as a precaution, with no suggestion that there has been another setback with the injury he suffered in Round 3, which sidelined him for just over a month.

Meanwhile, Parramatta fullback Clint Gutherson has been ruled out of Origin contention after undergoing knee surgery.

The Eels confirmed that Gutherson had a minor operation on his knee and would be unavailable for up to five weeks.

Gutherson has played four Origins for NSW and was a member of the team that beat Queensland 24-10 in the third match of last year's series.

The Dolphins will be without Kenny Bromwich (concussion) for their trip to Townsville in Round 9 but are boosted by the return of Felise Kaufusi (hamstring) and Connelly Lemuelu (knee), while captain Jesse Bromwich looks set to play despite a calf issue that ended his game last week.

In further good news for the club, prop Tom Flegler is unlikely to need surgery on the shoulder injury he suffered in Round 5, with his return timeframe still indefinite.

The Storm will be without in-form winger Xavier Coates (hamstring) for the match against the Titans, who themselves will be missing enforcer Moeaki Fotuaika due to concussion.

Dragons centre Mosese Suli will also miss Round 9 under the NRL concussion protocol, while the Raiders will re-assess forward Pasami Saulo's lower back injury after their Round 10 bye to see if he is fit to return for Magic Round.

Despite failing to finish last Sunday's win over the Dolphins, the Knights have named Jed Cartwright (ankle) and Greg Marzhew (ankle) to take on the Warriors but Jacob Saifiti has failed to come up from a leg injury suffered in Round 8 and has been withdrawn.

To view the complete NRL Casualty Ward, please visit the hub page.