The Cronulla Sharks have confirmed star five-eighth Braydon Trindall underwent scans on Sunday for his shoulder injury against the Canberra Raiders.
The scans returned with a confirmation of a shoulder dislocation, occurring in the fifth minute of play when Trindall kicked to himself, slamming the ball down in the in-goal area where he suffered the injury.
The Indigenous star was immediately taken off the field in discomfort, but was able to have his shoulder popped back in by Sharks medical staff with ease, indicating little to no structural damage and avoiding surgery for now.
The Sharks confirmed they will now work with Trindall to rehabilitate his shoulder in a bid to have their playmaker back on the field before the end of the season.
Similar to Tigers' Taylan May, he was able to rehab the shoulder after a dislocation and postpone surgery until the end of the season to continue playing for his club.
The Sharks and Trindall will hope to replicate the same magic to have him return to the field before the end of their finals campaign, or if they desperately need his services when they enter the knockout stages.
But with every dislocation comes the greater risk of re-injury, which saw May have three separate shoulder dislocation injuries during the season before he was forced to have surgery.
Niwhai Puru emerges as the most-likely candidate to replace Trindall in the halves, and has played halfback three times this year since his NRL debut against the Manly Sea Eagles in Round 13.
Meanwhile, KL Iro made a successful return from concussion protocols on the weekend against the Raiders, while cult-hero prop Toby Rudolf made his return to NSW Cup with the Newtown Jets following a lengthy stint on the sidelines with an MCL injury.
Departing centre Jesse Ramien successfully underwent pectoral surgery for his season-ending injury, finishing his time in the Shire and will make the move to North Queensland with teammate Sione Katoa.
The Sharks turn their attention toward their road trip to the Gold Coast to face the Titans on Sunday.
