BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – MAY 15: Ryan Matterson of the Eels celebrates scoring a try during the round 10 NRL match between the Sydney Roosters and the Parramatta Eels at Suncorp Stadium, on May 15, 2022, in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
Parramatta Eels star Ryan Matterson is set to miss another week, with the forward still battling to overcome a rib injury.
It’s understood Matterson suffered a painful rib cartilage injury during Parramatta’s Round 15 win over the Sydney Roosters, and was then a late out for last week’s loss at Homebush on Saturday evening to the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
The star forward, who has recently re-signed with the club and made his State of Origin debut all within a few weeks of each other, is named to play for the Eels this weekend after missing out on selection for Game 3, as he was for Game 2 after being axed from Brad Fittler’s 22-man New South Wales Blues squad.
Matterson was due to return at lock this week, the same place he was named last week having spent a sizeable portion of the season to date coming off the interchange bench for the Eels.
Ryan Matterson expected to be ruled out again this week as he battles ongoing rib injury suffered in Round 15 (via @TimWill94). Most able to return within 3 weeks if no fracture present, but it is known as one of the most painful footy injuries for a reason.
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) July 7, 2022
Turning himself into one of the game’s most dangerous forwards however, the Eels will be desperate to have Matterson back on the park sooner rather than later, with Junior Paulo also missing this week as he is in State of Origin camp ahead of the decider on July 13.
If Matterson is ruled out of Saturday’s clash with the Tigers, it’s tipped that Marata Niukore would move from prop to lock, with either Oregon Kaufusi or Makahesi Makatoa moving into the starting side at prop, and Nathan Brown or Wiremu Greig joining the bench.
The other option would be to move Isaiah Papali’i from the edge to the middle, although a lack of options to start in the second row likely rules this out as a viable option for the blue and gold.
Brad Arthur will cut his team to 19 players 24 hours before kick-off, which is scheduled for 7:35pm (AEST) on Saturday.
Source:: ZeroTackle
