A major leg injury is sustained by Melbourne star Ryan Papenhuyzen during the Storm’s NRL finals loss to Brisbane.
In the closing moments of the Storm’s 26-0 finals loss to Brisbane, Melbourne star Ryan Papenhuyzen was carried off the field on a stretcher due to yet another major leg injury.
Papenhuyzen was caught in a difficult position during a tackle with teammate Nelson Asofa-Solomona with little over seven minutes remaining in the game.
As doctors treated Papenhuyzen, play was halted for a few minutes. Storm authorities subsequently confirmed that Papenhuyzen’s ankle was seriously damaged as it twisted beneath Asofa-Solomona.
“He left for the hospital. Frank (Ponissi), who I haven’t seen, claimed he was in excruciating pain. It’s not good,” Storm head coach Craig Bellamy remarked.
I have no idea how he is now feeling. He had to work really hard to get back into the NRL team, given the amount of effort he had to put in to start playing again.
Papenhuyzen shared a picture from the hospital late last night on Instagram, writing, “We go again, love ya.”
The 25-year-old was just three games into his recovery from a shattered kneecap that kept him out of action for more than a year, so it’s a harsh blow.
Weeping, he walked off the field.
“I regret for him. The news is not good. The unfortunate man, who has recently returned, experiences such things,” Storm five-eighth Cameron Munster remarked.
“The news is heartbreaking for both the club and him. We’ll stay with him overnight to see how he’s doing.”
After being brought to the hospital by helicopter, Papenhuyzen will likely need to undergo another protracted recovery period.
Adam Reynolds, a halfback for Brisbane, stated, “That was tough scenes to be on the field, hearing how much pain he was in, we were thinking of him straight away.”
“I don’t know the extent of the leg injury, but it looked pretty serious.”
Brisbane outclassed the Storm, and it was the Broncos’ first victory against them at the stadium since 2009.
“Our first half was really poor; we’d done well to be 8-0 at halftime, it could have been 20-0 at halftime,” Bellamy stated.
“I don’t know how we’re going to enter this game and play that way.
“We just appeared to be 17 players put together on a certain night and told to “good luck.”
“Our attack’s been humming along OK, but tonight it looked like they just met each other in the dressing room before the game.”
Next Saturday, Melbourne will play the victor of the Sydney Roosters and Cronulla in a knockout semifinal.
