Luke Keary has been cleared of a jaw fracture and could line up in the Sydney Roosters’ next game in a significant boost to the side’s hopes of salvaging their NRL season.
The five-eighth received an accidental boot in the face while tackling Newcastle’s Dominic Young on Saturday and played no further part in the Roosters’ 18-16 win.
The incident caused alarm since Keary broke his jaw in a pre-season training accident, but scans on Monday cleared him of another fracture.
He is likely to be named in the squad to face Canberra at Allianz Stadium on Sunday afternoon, when the Roosters may have a chance to surge back into the top eight pending other results.
“A CT scan has cleared Luke Keary of a fractured jaw after the five-eighth was unable to complete Saturday’s match,” a club statement read.
“The vice-captain will be monitored by club medical staff in the lead up to Round 17.”
Roosters centre Billy Smith said the news was a major boost for the Roosters, who are 11th on the NRL ladder after seven wins and seven losses.
“If (Keary’s) available then that’s awesome,” Smith said.
“He’s a world-class player and I love playing outside him.”
Second-row forward Sitili Tupouniua corked his thigh in the win over the Knights and is also under an injury cloud but Sam Walker and Brandon Smith are both expected to return from their own injuries in the coming weeks.
Once premiership favourites, the Roosters have endured a tumultuous season and have lost four of their last six games, escaping with narrow wins over Canterbury and the Knights in that time.
“Obviously it’s been disappointing but we haven’t lost sight of who we are as a club and who we are as a team,” Smith said.
“(But) we’re only a couple of wins out of the four.
“It just shows the type of footy that everyone’s playing and it’s crazy. You can never go into a game thinking you’re going to win. It’s always going to be a tight one.”
Meanwhile, North Queensland have confirmed talented second-rower Heilum Luki will miss “multiple weeks” with the facial fracture he suffered in Friday’s defeat of Penrith.
The fracture is the latest setback for Luki, who went down with an ACL injury last year, only to spend more time sidelined with a hamstring strain suffered three weeks after returning to the field.
Finally hitting form after a dire start to the season, the Cowboys expect to have a more concrete timeline for Luki’s return later this week.