Brisbane Broncos coach Kevin Walters has provided an update on the status of star duo Ezra Mam and Payne Haas ahead of the club's match against the North Queensland Cowboys.
The duo failed to finish the game last Saturday afternoon in what was a horror loss to the Gold Coast Titans and it was feared that they would both be on the sidelines for the rest of the season.
Fringe dummy halfย Tyson Smoothyย also picked up an ankle injury while playing for the Souths Logan Magpies in theย QLD Cup.
Smoothy has also had scans, but it's unclear exactly what damage he has done to his ankle at this stage.
Speaking about the duo of Haas and Mam, Walters revealed that the five-eighth is "possibly done" for the remainder of the season, but there is some hope that the prop will return before the season ends.
Thinking positively, the Broncos coach confirmed that the front-rower has escaped surgery for his Lisfranc injury and has a chance of returning, with a better prognosis than originally thought.
โPayne isn't having surgery so he's more than likely (to play again),โ Broncos coach Kevin Walters said viaย The Courier Mail.
โEzra is possibly done. Miracles happen.โ
The loss to the Titans means the Broncos have lost eight of their last nine and would need to win all four of their remaining fixtures to have even a mathematical chance of qualifying for the finals.
They will face the North Queensland Cowboys on Saturday afternoon before having a bye, then take on the Parramatta Eels, Dolphins andย Melbourne Storm to close out their campaign.
It is understood that they will make no late changes for their clash on Saturday.
Also on Friday, Cowboys coach Todd Payten said he expects the Cowboys to enter the game with their initial line-up with both Heilum Luki (hamstring) and Reuben Cotter (concussion) free to play.
โHe (Cotter) is good. To be fair to the kid he was pretty sparky after the game, when he got concussed he didn't have any symptoms in the days after that which has led to him getting passed easily by the independent specialist,โ Payten said.
โHe's super excited, he knows and has experienced what these games mean to our club.โ
