The New Zealand Warriors have confirmed Tanah Boyd's season is over after he suffered an ACL injury during the club's magic round win over the Brisbane Broncos.
Coming in just the seventh minute of the game, Boyd suffered a non-contract injury to his knee.
Club medical staff, performing on-field tests, determined immediately the result was likely an ACL injury, and now scans have confirmed the worst.
The typical return timeline for an ACL injury is between nine and twelve months, and Boyd will now race the clock to be fit for the opening game of 2027.
Boyd, who is set to re-sign with the Warriors, has rubber-stamped his authority as the club's best option at number seven over the opening weeks of the year, keeping Luke Metcalf out of the jersey to the point he will now leave the club at the end of the year.
Metcalf was expected to come straight back in for Boyd, however, he is nowhere to be seen in the Auckland-based outfit's team to play the St George Illawarra Dragons on Saturday evening at Kogarah, with Te Maire Martin instead to start at halfback and partner Chanel Harris-Tavita.
The Warriors have confirmed no surgery date has been set as yet for Boyd.
In better news for the club, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, who has been named in the reserves to play the Dragons, has been cleared as fit to return from a shoulder injury and should be parachuted into the starting team.
The club have also confirmed Haizyn Mellars and Rocco Berry are due to be fit next week, while Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad still doesn't have a return date.
