The North Queensland Cowboys made the trip down to Sydney to face the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on Friday night, and despite coming away with the two points, they've been dealt a serious blow.
Cowboys superstar Jeremiah Nanai, who was featuring in his second game back from a shoulder reconstruction, went down with a similar injury in the second half.
Nanai sustained a nasty shoulder injury in the Pacific Championships for Samoa last year, missing the final against the Kiwis after undergoing a shoulder reconstruction.
Following a successful return game off the bench against Cronulla last week, Nanai was promoted into the starting side for an opportunity to reclaim some of the form he captured early in his career.
Cowboys coach Todd Payten confirmed it was the same shoulder injured last year, and that he will be sent to have it scanned to determine the severity.
"It's the same shoulder, he's gonna get a scan," Payten admitted.
"Yeah, really disappointed for him because he worked super hard. We'll see how it goes, but yep, it's not great."
The Samoan international has represented his country four times and has donned the QLD Maroons jersey on eight occasions since his NRL debut in 2021.
Nanai burst onto the scene in the early stages of his career, scoring 17 tries in 23 games from the second-row position in his second year of first-grade, making him synonymous with elite try-scoring forwards.
It comes as a tremendous loss for the Cowboys, who, despite a hiccup against Manly in Round 7, have come out of the blocks firing in the past fortnight with two big wins against the Sharks and Bulldogs.
