A potential season-ending injury blow suffered by rising Cowboys second-rower Heilum Luki has marred North Queensland’s phenomenal revival.
Wide World of Sports confirmed with the club that Luki had succumbed to a suspected ACL rupture during the Cowboys’ 31-12 win over the Dragons on Friday night.
The 21-year-old hobbled from the field in Townsville after emerging from a tackle with an injured right knee in the 15th minute.
AS IT HAPPENED: Origin-hit Cowboys topple Dragons
READ MORE: Blues shake-up poses awkward Latrell question
READ MORE: V’landys pins ‘obvious’ mistake on Blues trainer
“He’s definitely going for scans but it doesn’t look great,” said Cowboys coach Todd Payten in his post-match press conference.
“Fingers crossed for him, but we’ll know more in the next 24 to 48 hours.
Watch State of Origin exclusively live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now.
In better news for Cowboys supporters, another young North Queensland back-rower in Jeremiah Nanai revealed at half-time that his injury suffered during the State of Origin opener wasn’t serious.
‘Beautiful’ Hess ball sets up Cowboys try
Nanai was felled by an injury to his right ankle during Queensland’s 16-10 win over New South Wales on Wednesday night.
The 19-year-old left play and made a miraculous return to the field, but he wasn’t named for the Cowboys’ match against the Dragons.
Stream the NRL premiership 2022 live and free on 9Now.
“Fingers crossed on Tuesday I’ll find out if I can play next week,” Nanai told Johnathan Thurston on Nine’s coverage.
“It’s just a minor injury.”
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
State of Origin I 2022 in pictures: All the colour of the Blues v Maroons opener
