Manly Sea Eagles star fullback Tom Trbojevic is set to be ruled out for five months after being told he will need surgery to fix a dislocated shoulder.
The five-month recovery injury all but certainly ends Trbojevic's season after he was taken from the field in a considerable amount of pain during Friday's clash with the Parramatta Eels.
Manly, who now hold a five and six record, have been sweating on Trbojevic's scan results to be returned, however, the news is as bad as it possibly can get, with Channel 9s Danny Weidler stating a five-month recovery is now the expectation.
Given we are already in late May, a five-month recovery will have Trbojevic returning to fitness a few weeks after the scheduled grand final date, with even a speedy recovery unlikely to put him back on the field for Manly this season.
It also puts the Rugby League World Cup in doubt for Trbojevic, where he almost certainly would have held a spot in Mal Meninga's side to defend the global crown when the tournament gets underway at the back end of October in England.
Manly's immediate worries will now turn towards winning games without Trbojevic, something they have often struggled to do in recent years.
Reuben Garrick will likely become the team's long-term fullback, meaning Christian Tuipulotu will retain his spot in the side moving forward on the wing. Ben Trbojevic is also likely to return in the centres in the coming weeks after a handful of impressive games before he suffered an injury of his own.
Tom Trbojevic has, by his own admission, been well below his best this season, and with Manly sitting outside the top eight, doing it without their star will leave the club searching for answers for the remainder of the season.