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Melbourne chiefs were left shattered by Ryan Papenhuyzen\u2019s latest horror injury, but they are confident the Storm star will not be forced into early retirement.<\/p>\n
Papenhuyzen underwent surgery on Saturday morning in Brisbane to repair the ankle he broke during the 26-0 qualifying final loss to the Broncos on Friday night. He had six screws and a plate inserted into his leg.<\/p>\n
Despite being booed by fans inside Suncorp Stadium when he first took the field midway through the first half, there was silence \u2013 and then a standing ovation \u2013 when Papenhuyzen was taken off on the back of a medicab.<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s game was just his third NRL appearance since his August return against Gold Coast ended a 405-day NRL absence. There were concerns Papenhuyzen was facing up to another 12 months on the sidelines when medical staff first examined the break.<\/p>\n
However, Storm football manager Frank Ponissi confirmed on Saturday Papenhuyzen had not suffered a compound fracture, as had been widely speculated.<\/p>\n
\u201cScans overnight suggest that it may not be as serious as first feared, but until he comes out of surgery we won\u2019t know,\u201d Ponissi said.<\/p>\n
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Ryan Papenhuyzen underwent ankle surgery on Saturday morning.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Instagram<\/cite><\/p>\n Club chairman and part-owner Matt Tripp is good friends with Papenhuyzen, who is contracted until the end of 2025. He watched him overcome a series of concussions and then a catastrophic knee injury, which is why he is confident NRL fans have not seen the last of the Storm flyer.<\/p>\n When asked about the prospect of medical retirement \u2013 something many people in the game were asking about \u2013 Tripp said: \u201cAbsolutely not. No way is this the end for him. I don\u2019t believe it will be.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t know what his situation is [with the latest injury], but win, lose or draw, in terms of the length of [recovery], we\u2019ll be there every step of the way to make sure he gets through it and comes out the other side with a full recovery.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s copped so much. This will be another chapter in his book that will hopefully see him create a great legacy when he comes back by going on to bigger and better things.<\/p>\n Ryan Papenhuyzen clutches at his broken ankle on Friday night.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>NRL Photos<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cWe know how good he can be. We didn\u2019t get to see it this time around in the two games he played, but next year, hopefully we see him in full flight for 27 rounds and then finals if we get there.<\/p>\n \u201cI have no words for what happened last night.<\/p>\n \u201cKnowing what he\u2019s gone through the last 15 months, and how hard he has worked to get back, then for that to happen on the biggest stage, the whole Storm community are really feeling it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were beaten by a better team on the night, we were beaten fair and square, but the loss pales into insignificance when you think about what this young man is going through now.<\/p>\n Ryan Papenhuyzen is taken off the field after suffering a serious ankle injury on Friday night.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s taken its toll on everyone. We\u2019ve got battle-hardened guys at our club who have been around a long time, and they\u2019re feeling it.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone will get around him the next few weeks and next few months. It\u2019s a bit of an unknown. But we\u2019ll do whatever we can to bring him back bigger and better.\u201d<\/p>\n Storm coach Craig Bellamy said after the loss: \u201cI just can\u2019t imagine how Ryan\u2019s feeling at the moment. The amount of work he\u2019s put in to get back to playing again, and then he had to work hard to get back into the NRL team \u2013 he played three or four games for the [Sunshine Coast] Falcons [Storm feeder team].<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t a great night anyway, and this just made it a lot worse.\u201d<\/p>\n Winger Xavier Coates hobbled from the field late with an ankle injury and will undergo scans when the team returns to Melbourne.<\/p>\n The Storm will host Cronulla or the Sydney Roosters on Friday night at AAMI Park. One player who will come into the mix to replace Papenhuyzen and probably Coates is rookie flyer Sualauvi Faalogo.<\/p>\n Stream the NRL premiership 2023 live and free on <\/b>9Now<\/b>. <\/b><\/p>\n Sports news, results and expert commentary. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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