Tom Trbojevic's State of Origin dream has been put on hold, but Blues coach Laurie Daley will breath a sigh of relief with Jarryd Hayne expected to play for the Titans next weekend.
It was a horror Saturday outing for the Blues coach, who watched his likely starting winger and centre fail to finish their respective matches for Manly and the Gold Coast.
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Broncos chase down fast-starting Sea Eagles
The Brisbane Broncos swamped the Manly Sea Eagles in the second half of a match that the Sydney side had led 14-0 at halftime.
Hayne suffered nerve damage in his ankle but is expected to be given the all clear to play against the Sea Eagles in the final round before Daley announces his Blues team for game one.
However, there's unlikely to be such good news for Trbojevic, who is expected to miss a large chunk of the season, if not all of it, with separate knee and ankle injuries.
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Sea Eagles officials said Trbojevic had a good night's sleep and was better in the morning, but they won't know the full extent of the injury until they receive scan results on Monday. Medical staff were quietly optimistic the damage isn't as bad as originally feared.
While Trbojevic's injury will have huge ramifications for Manly's finals aspirations, Daley will also have to rethink his back line just a week out from his team announcement next Monday.
With James Tedesco tipped to get the fullback position, Trbojevic was expected to get the nod on the wing. The injury means Jack Bird will come into calculations as a centre alongside Hayne, with Josh Dugan and Blake Ferguson the front runners to get the other positions in the back line.
Dylan Walker, who made his Origin debut last year, could come into calculations but he insists he is more focused on the heartbreak his teammate is going through.
"I'm more gutted for Tommy than anyone," Walker said. "He deserves that spot more than anyone. He's a special player and I'm really close to him. He's one of my good mates here. I'm not fussed about that door opening. They have great players – Hayne has been there and done that.
"My fingers are crossed that he can come back and get that spot. I'm more gutted than anyone for him. Tommy deserves every chance to get his spot and hopefully it's not too bad."
The Sea Eagles have a number of options to replace Trbojevic, including Matthew Wright and Jackson Hastings, but Walker admits his No.1 is irreplaceable.
"He's one of those players you can't replace," Walker said. "He's such a big part of our team in attack and defence. It will be really devastating if we lose him but we have to adapt to that. We'll just have to wait and see how the scans go."
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