The Roosters’ injury curse has struck again before a ball has been kicked in round one with boom young forward Egan Butcher set to miss the first month of the season.
Butcher, who was certain to be picked in the Roosters’ team for the premiership opener against Newcastle, has a stress fracture in his foot from a training mishap.
No side was hit harder by injury in 2021 than the Roosters and this latest incident is a cruel blow before round one.
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The injury forced Butcher out of the Roosters’ two trial games and he has been seen wearing a moon boot around Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
A local junior, 21-year-old Butcher debuted mid-season last year when the Roosters were decimated and rose to the occasion, playing all the way through to the semi-finals and looking right up to scratch.
“It’s a real blow,” a Roosters insider told Wide World of Sports.
“He was training great but has been wearing a moon boot and restricted to light duties.”
His injury may well give his older brother Nat the chance to come into Trent Robinson’s 17-man squad.
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