Keary to miss four weeks, set to return before Roosters finals charge
Luke Keary is expected to return before the Roosters start their finals march after scans revealed the pint-sized five-eighth would miss up to four weeks with a medial ligament strain.
Keary, who limped off in the second half of the Roosters' 36-18 mauling of the Dragons, was considered doubtful to feature for the tricolours before their September campaign.
But Trent Robinson's side received a welcome dose of good news with Keary's injury unlikely to keep him out of the final fortnight of the season.
He is long odds to be available for a potential minor premiership showdown against his old club South Sydney Rabbitohs on Friday week, but should be back to partner Cooper Cronk in the halves before the finals.
Keary's knee twisted awkwardly under teammate Lindsay Collins and he trudged off the field, but it mattered little as the Roosters ran riot over a flat Dragons thanks to Latrell Mitchell's hat-trick and an inspired James Tedesco.
It means they closed the gap on ladder leaders Melbourne in premiership betting with the competition's top two ranked sides, the Storm and Rabbitohs, to go toe-to-toe at ANZ Stadium on Friday night.
Robinson is tipped to use the versatile Ryan Matterson or Sean O'Sullivan as Keary's replacement when the Roosters host the Cowboys at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
O'Sullivan was the central figure in one of the biggest officiating controversies of the year after he was awarded his first NRL try on debut in an under-manned Roosters' win over the Gold Coast earlier this month.
The NRL later admitted the Bunker erred in green-lighting the try.
O'Sullivan, 19, has attracted interest from the Broncos and could line up for the first time alongside Cronk, who missed the Titans game on the eve of the birth of his first child.
There was further good news for the Roosters with Queensland prop Dylan Napa expected to play his first game in over a month after missing the State of Origin series finale, a return to soften the Keary blow.