Panthers lose Kikau for six weeks in early season blow

Panthers wrecking ball Viliame Kikau will miss the start of the NRL season after scans confirmed the Fijian had suffered a grade two medial ligament knee injury.

The 23-year-old, who was revelation for Penrith during their finals charge last year, is expected to miss up to six weeks leaving a huge hole for returned coach Ivan Cleary to fill.

It means the Panthers will almost certainly be without one of their biggest attacking weapons for the opening round blockbuster against Parramatta before further games against the Knights and grand finalists Melbourne.

Kikau limped off injured after just a few minutes of the Panthers' 28-8 trial win over the Rabbitohs at Redfern Oval on Saturday night, a match which doubled as John Sutton's testimonial.

His injury was one of a number of significant setbeacks for Sydney clubs with Manly most notably losing fullback Tom Trbojevic to a hamstring complaint in their loss to the Sharks.