Rabbitohs playmaker Lachlan Ilias will undergo surgery after fracturing his tibia in sickening incident while playing reserve grade on Satuday.
Ilias, 23, was carried from the field after a shocking tackle in the NSW Cup that saw Warriors hooker Freddy Lussick sent off with a few seconds left on the clock.
Playing reserve grade for the third week in a row, Ilias was putting in a kick near midfield on what would have been the last play of the game when Lussick rushed out of the line to charge it down, but crashed into the halfback’s leg while he was midair.
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Ilias was writhing in pain with players from both teams coming together which saw Moala Graham-Taufa sent to the sin bin for throwing a punch.
The South Sydney halfback was helped from the ground by a teammate and a member of the club’s medical staff, with Ilias leaving the field on crutches with his right foot elevated.
Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou went up the tunnel with Ilias who scored the try that put the Bunnies up 26-20 as they held on to beat the Warriors at Accor Stadium, but he now faces a nervous wait to see how long he’ll be out.
Surgery on the shin bone injury can include plate and screws or long rod, according to popular social media account ‘NRL Physio’, and Ilias is likely facing three to six months recovery.
Dean Hawkins set to be Souths’ long-term halfback and Demetriou said he expects Lussick to be dealt with by the match review committee.
“I think they’re talking about a tibia fracture, so he’ll obviously have to get scans and we’ll know more about it,” Demetriou said after the game on Saturday.
“It was pretty sad to see.
“I didn’t see the tackle. I was in the change rooms and I’d heard that Lachie had hurt himself so I came out to make sure and to see that he’s all right first and foremost.
“From what I heard, it was ordinary, but I didn’t see it. I’m sure the match review committee will look at it in NSW Cup.”
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Warriors coach Andrew Webster also missed the incident and said it was unfortunate that accidents happen on the field.
“The only period I saw was that there were 20 seconds to go so I thought someone was going to have to charge this ball down, otherwise we can’t win the game,” he said.
“That’s when I got up to turn, but the next thing I saw, they were on the ground so I can’t really comment.
“I’ve heard that Freddy was trying to charge the football down, but I’m not across the situation.
“With 20 seconds to go, that’s probably going to have to be your mindset otherwise you’re not going to win the game.”
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