The Wests Tigers will be without both Adam Doueihi and Samuela Fainu for lengthy stints, with the club confirming the status of injuries sustained during a blowout loss to the Cronulla Sharks on the weekend.
Doueihi, who was injured early in the game when attempting to score a try, has watched his State of Origin dream go up in smoke.
The in-form halfback who can play anywhere in the back seven will miss six weeks, setting his return date around the same time as Game 2 of this year's series.
At club level, he will likely miss upcoming games against the Melbourne Storm, Manly Sea Eagles, Canterbury Bulldogs, Penrith Panthers and Gold Gold Coast Titans before being fit to return in Round 16 against the Dolphins. The Tigers have a bye after their clash against Manly, and have confirmed Jock Madden will replace him at halfback this weekend.
Fainu, on the other hand, will be replaced by the returning Kai Pearce-Paul, but a foot injury will keep him out for double the length of time Doueihi will miss, with the club anticipating a 12-week return to play.
While no further details will given, that is the typical return timeline for a major lisfranc injury.
It means he will likely miss all the games Doueihi misses, as well as games against the Dolphins, Newcastle Kights, St George Illawarra Dragons, New Zealand Warriors, Canterbury Bulldogs and Canberra Raiders before being a likely return in Round 22 against the Parramatta Eels.
In further bad news for the Tigers, the original return timeline for Jahream Bula has blown out from three to four weeks to another five weeks, with the club now not anticipating his return until the game against the Titans.
The other player in the Tigers' casualty ward is Heamasi Makasini, who is expected to miss another three weeks with a foot injury.
