Starford To’a has suffered a pre-season setback with the winger set to have surgery to repair an injured finger.
The 19-year-old suffered the injury late last week during a routine session.
Head of Physical Performance, Balin Cupples, admits that while there’s never an ideal time to be injured, the timing of the injury has worked out that the flyer’s training won’t be too hampered.
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Recovery report: Surgery and contact integration
“In kick-catch last week, he went up for a ball and just got caught awkwardly,” Cupples said.
“He’s got a bony mallet injury to his finger. He needs surgical intervention to get it reduced.
“Not that there’s any good time for injuries, but going into Christmas break, Star will have the surgery done (on Wednesday) and back into team running next week.
“When we get back post-Christmas as we start to ramp it up, he’ll be ok for skills and we’ll build his contact a couple of weeks after that.”
Mason Lino has been working overtime on his conditioning as he recovers from a shoulder issue and Beau Fermor continues to tick boxes as he comes back from an ACL.
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Both men have been working away from the group due to the increase in training intensity but have been hard at it despite being part of the rehabilitation unit.
“Mason continues to build his running,” Cupples said.
“He’s definitely sweating in terms of his off-field conditioning.
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“… any chance we get with Mase and Beauy (Beau Fermor), whether it’s warm-ups or close skill work, they’re both involved.”
Injured players and expected return dates:
Starford To'a (Finger - Pre-Season)
Mason Lino (Shoulder - Early year)
Beau Fermor (Knee - Early-Mid season)
