Wade Graham will be fit to return for the late stages of Cronulla’s run to the NRL finals after scans cleared the star second-rower of a serious knee injury.
Graham left the field late in the first half of the sixth-placed Sharks’ 17-14 win over Melbourne on Sunday, and didn’t return after failing a sideline fitness test.
However scans on Monday revealed he had only picked up a minor medial injury, ruling him out of Saturday’s clash with North Queensland but leaving the Sharks hopeful he can return the following week against Newcastle.
The blow is the latest in a stop-start season for the the 27-year-old, who has missed six games this year through hamstring, groin, concussion and cheekbone issues as well as a suspension.
Sunday’s win was just the second time this year they have been able to field their best starting 13, with Graham, Josh Dugan, Paul Gallen and Luke Lewis having each spent a significant amount of time on the sidelines in 2018.
Despite that, the Sharks still remain just two points off a top-four finish with three games against bottom-eight teams to finish.
Cronulla received further good news on Monday with retiring second-rower Lewis also cleared of a knee injury after the 35-year-old left the field in discomfort on Sunday.
Meanwhile the other casualty from the match – Melbourne’s Ryan Hoffman – will go for scans on an injured hamstring on Tuesday after club medicos let bleeding subside on Monday.
The veteran former NSW and Kangaroos second-rower will retire at the end of the season, and the Storm remain hopeful the tear is not bad enough to rule him out for the rest of the year and end his career.