Latrell Mitchell has been ruled out of the opening game of the 2023 State of Origin series in Adelaide with a calf injury.
It's understood Mitchell has picked up the injury at training last week, having originally been named to play in the centres alongside Tom Trbojevic.
The duo, who were instrumental in the 2021 series victory for New South Wales, both missed the entirety of last year's series, with Mitchell making himself unavailable after missing most of the pre-Origin window injured, while Tom Trbojevic was ruled out for the season early in the campaign.
The NSWRL confirmed the injury on Monday morning, with Stephen Crichton to come into the centres after being named 18th man. Matt Burton is the replacement 18th man.
The NSWRL confirmed Matt Burton has replaced Mitchell as 18th man, travelling to Adelaide today, while Mitchell remained in Sydney.
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In the absence of the two centres last year, Crichton made his New South Wales debut last year, playing in all three games for the Blues, although his performances were mixed.
The horror news out of the Blues' camp comes after Campbell Graham was originally named 18th man, but pulled out of the squad due to an injury of his own.
The reasoning provided surrounded the face he couldn't train during the early part of the week, however, he ultimately was pulled out of South Sydney's clash against the Canberra Raiders on Saturday evening too.
It also follows a scare last week after Payne Haas found himself needing to look after an ankle, although it's believed he has now returned to the training paddock ahead of Game 1.
The severity of Mitchell's calf injury is yet to be determined or known, but even a minor injury could see him miss as many as three weeks, putting his participation in Origin 2 in doubt as well, with that game to be played on June 21 in Brisbane.
Huge Origin news - Latrell Mitchell ruled out with a calf injury. Stephen Crichton to replace him (via @Danny_Weidler). No word on severity as yet from the Blues - if a minor strain most require 1-3 weeks recovery time
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) May 29, 2023
The series opener will be played at the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday evening.
