Broncos hooker Billy Walters faces nine to 12 months on the sidelines after scans confirmed he requires a full knee reconstruction.
Walters, 31 injured his knee in last Sunday’s epic 29-28 finals defeat of the Raiders in Canberra but an early diagnosis did not declare a full rupture of his ACL.
But a meeting with a specialist on Wednesday confirmed the devastating news that he would require the second knee reconstruction of his career. It’s the same knee he injured in 2020.
Walters is set to have surgery in the coming weeks and might not return until midway through next season given the nine to 12-month usual recovery timeline.
The loss of Walters, who was set to be a key part of the premiership push with doubts over the fitness of captain Adam Reynolds, comes on top of the Broncos being without crucial forward Pat Carrigan for the preliminary final next weekend in Brisbane.
After the win over the Raiders in Canberra to move within one win of a grand final return, Broncos coach Michael Maguire was unsure about Reynolds’ possible return.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“(Reynolds) is travelling well, and then you have to adjudicate how much players have been playing and the momentum of the side. I will look at the game and how we are moving and doing things.
“The boys are doing a good job, so it’s a nice place to be as a coach, to have decisions, and I will make them moving forward.”
