Canterbury forward Joe Stimson’s NRL season is likely over with a second operation required to complete a shoulder reconstruction.

Stimson went under the knife on Tuesday to begin work on a torn shoulder joint suffered in round two, the Bulldogs last match before the NRL stopped due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Due to restrictions on elective surgeries, the Bulldogs recruit had to wait more than a month between the date of the injury and the first procedure.

He will now have the second and final stage of the reconstruction in a fortnight.

It’s believed he will be out for between five and six month, all but certainly ending his year.

Under a reworked schedule revealed on Tuesday, the NRL’s last round will be played on the last week in September – five months from now.

The grand final is scheduled for October 25, a little under six months away.

Stimson’s injury will only add to the Bulldogs’ pain after fellow second-rower Corey Harawira-Naera and winger Jayden Okunbor had their contracts deregistered following a schoolgirl sex scandal, though both have launched appeals.

On a positive note, star five-eighth Kieran Foran could be one of the benefactors of the season’s shutdown as he battles to recover from a shoulder injury.

He will resume non-contact training when the club practice resumes on Monday, while forward Chris Smith also remains on the comeback trail from a knee injury.

Still, it leaves the Bulldogs with just 26 players to pick from in 2020 even if Foran and Smith do return.

They will likely look to pick up uncontracted players from the NSW Cup to fill their squad.