Breakout Manly Sea Eagles star Josh Schuster is set to miss up to the first six weeks of the NRL season after suffering a high ankle sprain at training.

Commonly known as the syndesmosis injury, Schuster was pictured at Manly training on Tuesday in a moon boot.

According to The Daily Telegraph follow up scans and x-rays have revealed he has suffered a high ankle sprain. It's unclear the severity of the injury at this time, and the club are yet to comment, however, Round 6 would mean Schuster is looking at a recovery which could potentially take as long as ten weeks.

If it is simply a sprain, he may be back in as little as six weeks, meaning he could play in Manly's Round 3 clash with the Canterbury Bulldogs.

Manly open their season with matches against the Penrith Panthers and Sydney Roosters, before following up the Bulldogs clash with matches against the Canberra Raiders, Newcastle Knights and Gold Coast Titans in the first six weeks.

The star second-rower, who also has the ability to play in the halves, captained the New South Wales junior Origin team from the second-row in 2019 before making his debut at the end of the 2020 season.

In the same under-18 side were now established or fringe first graders Bradman Best, Mat and Max Feagai, Viliami Penisini, Tyrell Sloan, Jayden Sullivan and Jackson Topine, as well as teammates Sione Fainu and Ben Trbojevic, who will both push for first-grade time this year.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 01: In this handout image provided by NRL Photos Tyrell Sloan of the Dragons scores a try during the round 20 NRL match between the St George Illawarra Dragons and the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Browne Park, on August 01, 2021, in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by NRL Photos via Getty Images )

He then became a permanent fixture in Des Hasler's 2021 side, playing 21 games (with all but two in the second-row, the other two coming on either side of an injury in the halves).

He established himself as one of the best second rowers in the competition, averaging almost 80 metres per game and close to 30 tackles per contest, while also scoring a pair of tries and making eight line breaks.

The 20-year-old going down is a bitter blow for the Sea Eagles, with the likely replacement being Karl Lawton, who would start in the second-row instead of providing cover from the bench in both the second-row and at hooker.

It also opens the path for either Ben Trbojevic or Andrew Davey to gain a bench spot.

Manly play the opening match of the season on March 10 against the Penrith Panthers in what will be billed as a blockbuster way to start the year.