A tumultuous start to 2022 hasnโ€™t gotten any easier for St George Illawarra Dragons forward George Burgess, with reports the star prop has checked into a rehabilitation facility to deal with โ€˜personal issues'.

โ€œThe club can acknowledge that George is on personal leave to take care of some personal matters,โ€ Dragons chief executive Ryan Webb told the Sydney Morning Herald. The club was reluctant to offer further comment due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The 2013 Dally M and RLPA Rookie of the Year has made just four appearances for the Dragons since his return from a Super League stint with Wigan. He had previously played 149 games for South Sydney, winning a premiership with the club in 2014.

The latest development comes after Burgess was charged with sexually touching someone without consent back in March. Though the hearing isnโ€™t set to take place until February 2023, Burgess was permitted to continue playing instead of falling under the leagueโ€™s no-fault stand-down policy.

Burgess will plead not guilty to the charge, which carries a maximum five-year sentence. Though the club have offered little further comment, they advised in a release this week that Burgessโ€™ current personal leave had nothing to do with the pending criminal matter.

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Though he has been at the Dragons less than a year, itโ€™s not the first time heโ€™s met with trouble since his return.

In August 2021 he was charged with malicious damage following an altercation in Wollongong. In October he was given a 12-month conditional release order that required him to be โ€˜of good behaviourโ€™ for the next year.