Melbourne Storm centre and first-choice goal kicker Nick Meaney will likely miss anywhere between one and two months pending the severity of a suspected fractured jaw.
Meaney was involved in a head collision with teammate Nelson Asofa-Solomona after halftime on Thursday evening, the kick-off of Round 3, against the Penrith Panthers.
While he wasn't immediately taken from the field, he would eventually take no further part in the game. Concern was shown almost immediately after the collision by the club's medical staff for Meaney's jaw.
The utility backline option will, according to the NRL Physio, miss anywhere between one and two months of action, although the return timeline will only be able to be set after scans confirm the severity of the damage, including whether the jaw if fractured in multiple places or not.
That will ultimately determine whether he needs surgery to repair the injury or not.
In the meantime, Melbourne, who took out the win over Penrith in the grand final rematch, will turn to Ryan Papenhuyzen to take over goal-kicking duties, while it could be youngster Sua Fa'alogo handed an opportunity in the backline to play in the centres.
If the Storm look away from Fa'alogo, who usually plays fullback, then it will likely be the return of Will Warbrick to the wing shuffling Grant Anderson into the centres which fills the gap.
Another rugby convert Moses Leo is another option to make his NRL debut with Anderson shuffling into the wing, while regular bench utility Tyran Wishart could play anywhere around the backline.
The Storm also have specialist centre Marion Seve as part of their squad to round out the replacement option for coach Craig Bellamy, who has his side humming early in the campaign with two wins and a bye from the first three rounds.
Melbourne travels to Kogarah next weekend to play the St George Illawarra Dragons, before at a minimum also facing the Manly Sea Eagles, New Zealand Warriors and Dolphins without Meaney.
