Penrith Panthers star prop Moses Leota could miss up to ten weeks with a glenoid fracture in his left shoulder.
Leota left the field during the final minutes of Penrith's clash with Manly on Thursday evening in the season opener. After reeling out of a tackle, Leota was seen making an attempt to grab Martin Taupau a few plays later, only to barely get a finger on him.
He was then taken from the field in clear discomfort by the Penrith medical staff and trainers, with concerns he had suffered a serious injury.
The club have now confirmed it, with a glenoid fracture likely to take anywhere between eight and ten weeks to recover from and rehabilitate to get back on the field.
The club statement said the affected area is the shoulder socket component of the scapula.
The 26-year-old has formed a damaging partnership in the Penrith front row with James Fisher-Harris over the last two years, and has quickly developed into one of the premier forwards in the competition.
His loss will hurt the Panthers in a big way, with even an eight-week recovery likely to have him racing the clock for a clash with the Melbourne Storm during magic round.
In between now and then, Penrith have matches against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Parramatta Eels, as well as potentially tricky encounters with the St George Illawarra Dragons, Canberra Raiders and Gold Coast Titans among others.
It's likely Spencer Leniu will come into the starting side, with Matt Eisenhuth regaining a spot on the bench, however, Ivan Cleary will confirm his team for Friday's clash with the Dragons on Tuesday at 4pm (AEDT).
