The Manly Sea Eagles have confirmed that Matt Lodge has ruptured his ACL in the right knee after going for an MRI scan.
Facing off against the team he recently joined as a mid-season signing, it took Lodge mere minutes to suffer an ACL injury against the Roosters last week. The club confirmed he will now undergo surgery this week before commencing the opening stages of rehab.
Signed to a train-and-trial deal worth $1000 per week since joining the Roosters as a mid-season acquisition, Lodge has been playing for his future in the past few weeks as he is not contracted for the 2024 season.
However, it has been revealed that the Sea Eagles are reportedly set to offer him an NRL lifeline for next season. One player who backed the club's decision to re-sign him is teammate Aaron Woods.
“He's already been awesome for this club, the first two games he played for us, he was in our top three players, which is why this injury is so disappointing,” Woods said via The Sydney Morning Herald.
“It's what he does for us off the field. He's been in a couple of good systems, we have a lot of kids here, and he's teaching them how to learn.”
The Manly Sea Eagles have also provided injury updates on Christian Tuipulotu, Sean Keppie, Josh Aloiai, Taniela Paseka and Tom Trbojevic.
Tuipulotu sustained a grade two MCL injury against the Dragons a couple of weeks back but has continued to work on his strength and build toward a return. While he will be assessed weekly due to the type of injury, there is no estimated date on when he could return back to first-grade selection.
Front-rower Sean Keppie is fit for selection this week after overcoming a back spasm but the same can't be said for fellow forwards Josh Aloiai and Taniela Paseka. The former will be out for a period of four weeks after undergoing successful right should reconstructive surgery, whilst the latter's recovery time is six weeks.
This is due to Paseka undergoing a successful MCL repair operation two weeks ago, after rupturing his right knee in the victory against the Cronulla Sharks.
Tom Trbojevic is continuing to progress well following surgery for a torn pec, but the club hasn't issued an estimated return date yet.