Ricky Stuart must have walked on a few pavement cracks and ducked under a few ladders of late, losing yet another key player to sheer bad luck after Danny Levi fractured his jaw against Cronulla.
Already losing fullback Xavier Savage to a similar injury in the pre-season challenge, Levi will now join his custodian in the casualty ward after managing just two minutes of play against the Cronulla Sharks before succumbing to a facial injury.
It mattered little in context of the result as the Raiders still managed to snatch the first win of the season, despite losing their starting hooker in the opening exchanges after putting his head in the wrong spot whilst tackling a Cronulla forward.
"He dropped into the tackle and a bit of footwork there from Teig Wilton and his shoulder collected Danny Levi right on the jaw," Greg Alexander said on Fox League's coverage.
Canberra confirmed the severity of the injury on Monday.
"Raiders hooker Danny Levi will undergo surgery on a fractured jaw on Tuesday, following the injury in last night's match against the Sharks at GIO Stadium Canberra," the club wrote in a statement.
"Levi will miss the next 8-10 weeks following surgery and is not expected back before round 12."
It wasn't a jersey expected to be donned by Levi after he put pen to paper in January for an immediate switch to the nation's capital.
The move ended a one-year stint with the Huddersfield Giants, after the Super League club gave him permission to return to Australia on compassionate grounds.
It's left last year's No. 9 Zac Woolford outside the best 17 with Tom Starling the preferred utility, and the zippy bench star proved he was capable of playing big minutes if need be, tackling his backside off in a 78 minute stint.
The rake lost a few teeth alongside the broken jaw, with NRL officials reportedly spending the half-time break looking for his pearly whites.
โNRL officials are currently on the ground looking for Danny Levi's teeth,โ Mick Ennis said on Fox League.
The injury will likely open the door for Woolford to return to a starting role, who has started all three NSW Cup games for Canberra's feeder club.
