Cronulla Sharks and New Zealand star winger Ronaldo Mulitalo could miss the entirety of the 2026 NRL season after suffering an ACL injury on Sunday during the Kiwis' win over Samoa.
Picked once again to represent the country, Mulitalo started for New Zealand, but was unable to complete the game after suffering the devastating knee injury.
The Sharks have now confirmed that he has ruptured an ACL.
The outside back would have been a walk-up starter again for the Sharks in 2026, but will now face major surgery, set to be had within the next week, that will rule him out for a period of between nine and twelve months.
That recovery timeline means that, in the best-case scenario, Mulitalo is unlikely to be available to play anytime before August, giving him potentially just a month of the regular season.
In the worst-case scenario, the winger will not play at all during 2026.
Mulitalo's injury likely means the Sharks will run with both Sam Stonestreet and Sione Katoa on the wings in 2026.
The duo are both off-contract at the end of next year, and likely fighting between them for a single spot in Craig Fitzgibbon's roster beyond that.
It could mean the player who has the strongest start to the year is offered a new deal long-term.
Katoa has been Mulitalo's wing partner for some time at the Shire-based club now, but there is no guarantee he will be the one to retain his position with Stonestreet viewed as the future.
The towering winger signed a one-year extension to remain with the Sharks recently after being believed to have seen interest from the St George Illawarra Dragons.
Both Stonestreet and Katoa could wind up on the radar of rival clubs from November 1, including the Perth Bears, as they begin to build their first 30-man squad ahead of entry to the NRL in 2027.
He can have my acl if he wants