Ryan Papenhuyzen has been officially ruled out of Melbourne Storm's blockbuster magic round clash with the Penrith Panthers, and faces a stint of between four and six weeks on the sideline.
The star fullback, who has been replaced by Nick Meaney for this weekend's sold out clash, has suffered a knee and hamstring injury, which will also rule him out of the opening State of Origin encounter.
Attention will now turn to Saturday's match between the two sides at the top of the table, with Penrith falling to the Parramatta Eels last weekend in what was their first loss of the season.
The defending premiers will still carry favouritism into the game, which is being billed as potentially the match of the season - even with 14 rounds to play.
The Storm, on the other hand, will be looking to Cameron Munster, Jahrome Hughes and Harry Grant to continue their incredible form which has seen the club rack up 162 points during the last three weeks while conceding just 18.
The challenge is made that much harder without Papenhuyzen however, who is the competition's leading fullback when it comes to form - and a number of key statistical metrics.
Reimis Smith will also miss the clash with Penrith after suffering a ruptured pectoral muscle, forcing Melbourne to bring Marion Seve into the side as a development player in the outside backs.
Watch the player above as The Rugby League Outlaws chat about the big clash coming up this weekend.
