Rabbitohs prop Liam Knight will miss the rest of the NRL season, after suffering a torn ACL on the weekend.
Knight was playing for the Rabbitohs NSW Cup team ahead of their big win over the Eels in first grade, and was the unfortunate victim of a nasty cannonball tackle.
Eels winger Solomone Naiduki was cited for the incident, and could be suspended for three games.
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While Knight has been in and out of the first grade team in 2022, he was an important depth piece and one that will sorely be missed this week, as the Rabbitohs go into their clash with Newcastle with a severely-depleted squad.
Cameron Murray, Jai Arrow, and Damien Cook will all miss the game due to their Origin commitments, while Hame Sele and Campbell Graham will both be out of action until almost the finals series with a hamstring issue and a fractured cheekbone, respectively.
Prop Mark Nicholls, who will join the Dolphins next year, is also in doubt.
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Brien Seeney, better known as ‘NRL Physio’ on social media, labelled the incident a “textbook contact ACL injury mechanism”.
The one silver lining for Souths this week is the acquisition of former junior Daniel Suluka-Fifita, who had already been brought back to the club for 2023, but was given an immediate release from the Roosters on Monday.
He could come immediately into the Rabbitohs’ rotation in Newcastle, along with other back-ups such as Ben Lovett, Michael Chee Kam, and Trent Peoples.
Stream the NRL premiership 2022 live and free on 9Now.
The Rabbitohs looked to have turned a corner in their season last week, as they welcomed back Latrell Mitchell and romped to an easy win against one of the competition’s premiership contenders.
Now, with their squad massively depleted, they suddenly face a huge test in Newcastle.
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