St George Illawarra Dragons' centre Jack Bird has suffered a devastating ankle injury during Thursday night's Round 12 opening clash with the Canterbury Bulldogs.
Occuring just a minute out from halftime, Bird, attempting to make a tackle on the left-hand side of the field just over halfway, went over at pace on his ankle.
The ankle bent outwards, with Bird then on the ground in horrific pain, dragging himself over the sideline with medical staff then assisting him before play was finally brought to a halt to allow the medicab to get close to the sideline.
https://x.com/nrlphysio/status/1793594728392556961
Bird was given the green whistle as he was taken from the field via the medicab, however, Fox Sports' sideline reporter James Hooper said the ankle isn't believed to be broken.
"Some good news out of the Dragons' sheds at halftime. The Dragons'doctors don't believe Jack Bird's left ankle is broken. They believe it is only a severe sprain and he isn't going to hospital," Hooper said.
If a severe sprain is proven to be the case, then the Dragons may be able to have Bird back on the field before the end of the season, with syndesmosis recovery times ranging from one to three months, pending on the recovery of the injury and whether surgery is needed.
The Dragons will be likely to use Zac Lomax in the centres over the coming weeks if Bird is out, with Christian Tuipulotu likely fending off youg gun Sione Finau for the vacant wing spot.
The Dragons and Bulldogs were tied at 12 points a piece with 32 minutes to go in the second half.
