The Queensland and New South Wales camps have been hit by injury, with AJ Brimson and Cameron Murray both ruled out of the remainder of the State of Origin series.
Key points:
- Maroons fullback AJ Brimson is sidelined with a foot injury
- Cameron Murray was ruled out of the rest of the series because of a hamstring injury
- The Blues are monitoring Boyd Cordner’s condition after he underwent an HIA in Origin I
Brimson, who made his Origin debut at fullback in the Maroons’ 18-14 win at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday night, will play no further part after sustaining a serious foot injury.
The Blues’ Murray was crunched awkwardly in a tackle in the series opener and suffered a hamstring injury.
Queensland team doctor Matt Hislop said Brimson, who scored a try in the Maroons’ stunning comeback win, injured his left foot late in the match.
He may require surgery after scans on Thursday revealed the extent of the injury.
“Scans confirmed a lisfranc ligament injury, which will rule AJ out of the rest of the series,” Dr Hislop said in a statement.
“A specialist surgeon has been consulted and initial advice is for him to remain in camp.”
The Maroons did receive some positive news on the injury front, with Kurt Capewell expected to be passed fit for next Wednesday night’s State of Origin II in Sydney.
Capewell was hampered by groin tightness during Origin I, having entered the match under an injury cloud.
“Kurt aggravated his symptoms during the game, however his scans today are reassuring,” Dr Hislop said.
“We anticipate he will respond to further treatment and be available for Game II.”
Blues coach Brad Fittler said that while Murray would not require surgery, he would need around five weeks of recovery.
“Cam Murray won’t play any further part,” Fittler said.
“The injury doesn’t need an operation. They’re [Blues medical staff] saying that in four or five weeks he’ll be OK, so it’s a good chance for him to go and have a rest and get ready for next year.”
After arriving back in Sydney at around 4:00am on Thursday, the Blues were counting the cost of their loss to the Maroons.
Captain Boyd Cordner will sit down with coaching staff following another head knock on Wednesday night.
Fittler said he was concerned for Cordner, who was taken off for a head injury assessment but passed and returned to the field.
The 28-year-old already missed six weeks of the NRL season this year with ongoing concussion symptoms.
“He came off for a HIA and passed all the protocols and went back on and did a great job actually, so that says a lot about Boyd and the fact that the protocols worked,” Fittler said.
“We’ll talk to Boyd. Obviously anyone who has had numerous head knocks or HIAs, everyone is concerned about them.
“There’s a couple of pictures that we’ll look at but we’ll talk to Boyd before we talk to anyone.”
AAP/ABC
