Queensland Maroons young gun Jeremiah Nanai has been left in considerable pain and needing to be carried from the field during the opening State of Origin clash against the New South Wales Blues after going over awkwardly on his ankle.
Attempting to make a tackle on Blues' winger Brian To'o in the 44th minute - shortly after halftime - Nanai's ankle rolled awkwardly, with both To'o and a teammate seeming to add weight to his problem as he went to ground.
Nanai was then seen writing in pain, punching the ground and shouting out.
After being assessed by trainers and the game being delayed for a number of minutes, Nanai was eventually carried from the field by the trainers, with fears of a potentially broken ankle or high ankle sprain the immediate concern for the Cowboys' young gun.
Channel 9 sideline reporter Damika Mason however reported shortly afterwards that Nanai was having his ankle strapped up and may be able to return.
He then returned to the field in the 60th minute.
In his Origin debut, Nanai had originally come onto the field at an earlier injury, when winger Xavier Coates went down with an ankle injury of his own in the 28th minute before halftime.
Coates' injury saw second rower Kurt Capewell move to the second row, and Valentine Holmes shift out to the wing. The injury to Nanai, who had taken the spot of Capewell, meant another reshuffle for the Maroons, with Reuben Cotter the man seemingly shuffled out to the edge, while Tino Fa'asuamaleaui brought back into the game possibly ahead of schedule.
The Maroons were leading 12 points to 4 after 50 minutes.
