South Sydney Rabbitohs will be without gun fullback Latrell Mitchell for up to eight weeks after scans confirmed he has torn a hamstring tendon.
Souths are priced at 5/1 to win the 2022 NRL grand final and the loss of Mitchell will come as a big blow as they look to push for a top-four finish this season.
Big setback
Mitchell picked up the injury just 20 minutes in to the game against the Dragons at the weekend and the Souths medical team immediately feared the worst.
Those fears have now been confirmed by scans. Head physio Eddie Farrah says the injury is in the tendon rather than the muscle which makes it much worse.
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Mitchell missed the start of the season through suspension and this latest piece of news is something the bunnies could do without.
Also it is not good news for New South Wales as Mitchell could be a doubt for game one of State of Origin against Queensland.
Slow recovery
"As everyone would have seen from our game on the weekend, unfortunately Latrell Mitchell was unable to complete the game," Farah said. "He went down with a hamstring injury, reported feeling a pull or a grab in his hamstring and was unable to finish the game.
"Unfortunately, the MRI scan he had the next day confirmed what we expected. There was a definite tear in the hamstring and the tear was located in the tendon, rather than the muscle.
"What that means is that recovery will be a lot slower. The tendon will heal a lot slower than the muscle strain, so we expect Latrell to be out for around eight weeks."
