Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has conceded his side “probably won’t recover completely” from the loss of Jahrome Hughes after his star halfback went down on Thursday.
However, they reportedly won’t have to wait as long as initially feared, with Hughes set to be sidelined for only six weeks.
That is according to Code Sports, who are reporting the initial scans at the hospital revealed his shoulder suffered no damage to the bone.
Hughes dislocated his shoulder in the second half of the Storm’s 34-30 win over the Roosters while attempting to tackle a charging James Tedesco around the legs.
Should an MRI also clear him of any further damage, the reigning Dally M Medallist could return during the Storm’s finals campaign.
While Melbourne can breathe a sigh of relief, 30-year-old stayed down and was in obvious pain with the club fearing the worst after the ugly incident.
“Oh dear, this does not look good,” Fox League commentator Andrew Voss said.
“One of the Melbourne stars is in great pain. You are feeling it watching it, Dally M medal winner… penny for the thoughts of Craig Bellamy.
“Jahrome Hughes is in a world of pain… this is a real worry.”
It was later revealed by Jake Duke that the Storm couldn’t get Hughes’ shoulder back into place, so they “called an ambulance and he’ll be taken to hospital.”
The Storm hung on without their main man to secure a gutsy win off the back of some superb efforts from hooker Harry Grant.
Bellamy wasn’t able to give much of an update on Hughes post-match, but said “it’s not good news” regardless and admitted he’ll “miss” the key playmaker’s presence.
“He’s gone to hospital and the doctor has gone with him. Not really sure, it’s dislocated and they couldn’t get it in here, so he’ll probably have to go under to get it back in,” he said.
“Whether he’s got a crack in it as well, we won’t find out until tomorrow. It’s obviously not good news, but we’re not sure about the severity of it until he has an x-ray or a scan.
“No one wants to lose their halfback. He’s a massive part of our footy team, without a doubt.
“We probably won’t recover completely because he’s the Dally M player of the year last year so we all know what a good player he is. However long he’s out for, we’re going to miss him.”
As for who will come in for Hughes, it’ll be between the versatile and reliable Tyran Wishart or youngster Jonah Pezet.
“It’ll be up to them. At the end of the day we’ll give someone a chance,” Bellamy said when asked about the pair.
“(Pezet) is only a young kid and hasn’t too much first grade experience but he’s a good organiser and good kicker. We’ll see what we think is best for the team.”
Whoever gets the nod at halfback, they will partner Cameron Munster, who will return from personal leave next week.
