Brisbane have revealed star forward Payne Haas will undergo surgery on a troublesome knee that will require up to six weeks recovery.
After initially playing down fears of a long-term setback for their Origin star, the Broncos confirmed on Wednesday evening that Haas will have an arthroscope on his knee.
The procedure will help clean out damage to Haas' leg and aid the prop for the long haul.
"Payne met with a specialist today and it was decided the best course of action was for him to have an arthroscopy next week.
"We always put the long-term health of the player first and even though Payne will miss some games now, we will get a much better result once he returns with the bulk of the season still to play.
"This kind of surgery has a recovery of up to six weeks, but we know that Payne is always very dedicated to his rehab and we expect no different this time around."
The Broncos had already removed Haas from their team list ahead of Thursday's clash with reigning premiers Penrith, with Xavier Willison named in his place in the 17-man squad.
Fletcher Baker has been moved from the interchange to the starting 13, joining halfback Jock Madden - who replaced the injured Adam Reynolds - as the inclusions for Kevin Walters.
The Broncos will head to BlueBet stadium to face the Panthers at 8:00pm on Thursday night.
