Melbourne Storm five-eighth Greg Inglis looks likely to miss the opening rounds of the 2008 Telstra NRL season with the Australian international due to have surgery on his left shoulder tomorrow.
Upon returning to training on Monday, Inglis asked the medical staff to inspect his shoulder, complaining it had been "clunking" for the past three weeks when he lifted his arm overhead.
Although Inglis has no recollection of injuring his shoulder, it was found he had a large tear of the labrum, the cartilage rim of the shoulder joint.
"Given the way Greg plays the game, it was felt he would not manage the season without having a surgical repair," said Performance Unit Manager Mary Toomey.
"He was seen by the club's shoulder surgeon, Mr Greg Hoy, who confirmed this and he has been booked to have a labral repair tomorrow."
Given the nature of the injury, Inglis has been ruled out of playing for between 12-16 weeks, and with his pre-season training now modified, he may miss the opening rounds of the 2008 season.
"The most likely cause of the sudden appearance of this problem was that he had a pre-existing, but undetected, degenerative tear of the labrum (a wear and tear injury). This would have made the shoulder structurally slightly weaker and made it possible to develop a larger tear or defect with minimal stress," said Toomey.
While frustrated with his latest injury setback, the Clive Churchill Medallist is glad the injury was detected early.
"It's disappointing coming back to training only to find out I have an injury that is going to keep me out for at least 3 months," said Inglis.
"But on the positive side the injury has been detected nice and early which means hopefully I won't miss too many games next season."
Inglis will not be available for comment until after his shoulder surgery tomorrow when the extent of the injury and the recovery time will be clearer.
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Inglis Could Miss Opening Rounds Of 2008 Season
Inglis Could Miss Opening Rounds Of 2008 Season
