New Zealand Warriors outside back Dallin Watene-Zelezniak has revealed he played through a broken thumb in Saturday's opening round loss to the St George Illawarra Dragons.
Watene-Zelezniak, who is in his first full season with the currently Redcliffe-based outfit after transferring from the Canterbury Bulldogs during the middle of last year, broke his thumb in the opening minutes of the clash.
Instead of coming from the field and leaving his team a man down though, he pushed through the injury.
While it's unclear at exactly what point of the game the New Zealand-born veteran broke his thumb, the 26-year-old, who has over 150 NRL games under his belt, scored a try in the 19th minute and rounded out the match with 65 metres to his name. His four errors could well be put down to the pain he was playing through though.
Taking to Instagram, Watene-Zelezniak revealed the injury, with the NRL Physio suggesting the recovery time could be around six weeks.
A six-week lay off would leave Watene-Zelezniak out until around Anzac Day, which falls in Round 7, with a chance of returning for the now traditional evening clash in Melbourne against the Melbourne Storm.
Watene-Zelezniak playing through was likely thought necessary, with him being withdrawn from the game likely requiring Euan Aitken to shift back to the centres, with Rocco Berry moving further out.
Aitken's shift to the second row has been one of the bright spots for the Warriors, with his form going to another level at the back end of 2021.
Edward Kosi and Jesse Arthars, who is on loan for the season from the Brisbane Broncos, are thought to be the two most likely replacements for the Warriors, who have plenty of winnable games ahead, with games against the Gold Coast Titans, Wests Tigers, Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys in the next month.