The Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs on Wednesday confirmed that Adam Elliot will miss the next six weeks with a fractured cheekbone. While Chris Smith will be sidelined for four to six weeks with a grade one syndesmosis ankle injury.
One of the promising young pieces within the Bulldogs organisation, Elliot was pulled from the field during his team's loss to the Parramatta Eels on Sunday following a head clash with the opposition's five-eighth Dylan Brown.
Failing to return to the field, Elliot's scans following the match confirmed he had fractured his cheekbone. According to the Bulldogs, he underwent surgery on Monday night and will spend the next six weeks on the sideline.
While the first year of Trent Barret's Bankstown rebuild is certainly not going to plan - with the team sitting at 15th on the ladder and having earned only two wins - Elliot's decision last year to commit to the club until 2023 makes him crucial in any cohesiveness they're trying to build.
It has also been announced that Chris Smith, a hard-running backrower who's played 30 games for the Bulldogs since joining in 2018, has sustained a grade one syndesmosis ankle injury while playing for the NSW Cup Mount Pritchard Mounties.
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Smith suffered a torn MCL and partially torn ACL in 2020, sidelining him for much of the year. He had played six games for the Bulldogs this year and will likely find himself continuing to fight for a jersey in the top grade when he eventually gets back to playing in four to six weeks.