In a cruel blow for an already struggling Canterbury side, reports have arisen on Thursday morning that Nick Cotric is set to miss the remainder of the 2021 season.
According to reports from The Daily Telegraph, Cotric, 22, has succumb to a ligament injury in his foot and will no longer be available for selection by head coach Trent Barrett.
The ailment, often referred to as 'turf toe', arose after the former Raider tripped and fell during a training session during the week.
Described as a sprain of ligaments by the perennially correct NRL Physio twitter account, a date for surgery has not been announced by the Belmore club, but the two-time Kangaroos representative is expected to rehabilitate the injury for at least the next three to five months.
Nick Cotric’s season is over, will undergo surgery on a toe ligament tear suffered at training (via @DaveRic1). Turf toe is a sprain of the ligaments under the big toe, likely complete tear + instability here as tears don’t always require surgery. Usually a 3-5 month recovery pic.twitter.com/TR84FLn5ca
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) July 1, 2021
The bad news of the Origin representative's sidelining has been compounded by the fact that fellow Bulldogs backs Jayden Okunbor (knee), Aaron Schoupp (isolation) and Christian Crichton (knee) are also unavailable for selection.
As reported by Telegraph journalist David Riccio earlier today, Barrett will be forced to call upon train and trial name Falakiko Manu to fill the void.
Barrett's beleaguered Bulldogs will face off against Manly at Bankwest this Saturday.
With a virtually non-existent Canterbury backline, along with the dual facts that the Dogs haven't posted a win since late April and Manly have posted 50-plus-points in their past two-contests, another cricket score could be on the cards in Parramatta this weekend.
