Josh Hodgson has played his last NRL match for Canberra with a knee injury that requires surgery to end the season.
The Raiders hooker suffered only minor injury early in his team’s round one win against Cronulla, but needs a knee reconstruction with scans revealing a partial ACL tear and other injuries after his return to training.
Hodgson, 32, is leaving the club at the end of the season after 138 appearances, having signed a two-year contract with Parramatta from 2023.
“That’s definitely not the way I wanted to finish at Canberra,” Hodgson said.
“After a disappointing year last year, it was probably the best I’ve felt this year in terms of my body and I felt really fit and really fresh after a good pre-season with no internationals and no rehabilitation.
“Doing it in such a small way and incurring such a big injury is really frustrating.
“I’ve really found a home away from home here in Canberra, and I absolutely love the place.”
Club doctor Greg Macleod said Hodgson had instability in his knee when he returned to training, causing the new injury.
“After further scans and diagnosis, the decision has been made that it is the club’s duty to care for Josh for him to have an ACL reconstruction due to a partial tear in his ACL and associated injuries,” he said.
“While the club and Josh were optimistic that the injury could be repaired without surgery, it is with very careful consideration that surgery is the best option for Josh’s long-term health and rugby league career.”
English Hodgson has been in Canberra since 2015 after joining from the Super League’s Hull KR.
That leaves the Raiders somewhat exposed at No. 9, with Tom Starling and weekend debutant Adrian Trevilyan sharing the cargo.
Meanwhile, North Queensland striker Mitch Dunn’s season is also over, after scans confirmed that the 25-year-old tore an ACL in the Cowboys’ 26-6 victory over the Raiders in Townsville last Saturday.
Australian Associated Press