In the midst of an NRL crisis, Newcastle have copped a further blow with confirmation star recruit Jayden Brailey has suffered an ACL injury that requires surgery.

The 23-year-old hooker was injured in the first half of Sunday’s 42-24 win over Wests Tigers – 24 hours before the NRL season was suspended.

His right knee was tended to momentarily on the field but continued to play the rest of the game.

“I’m extremely disappointed but I will bounce back. I’ll take this challenge head on and look forward to re-joining my teammates,” Brailey said.

It’s unclear when Brailey will undergo surgery given the current strain on hospitals due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the recovery time for an ACL reconstruction surgery is between six and nine months and the NRL is still hopeful of playing out the rest of the season later in the year.

Should the season recommence in June as hoped, with adequate rehabilitation Brailey could potentially finish the campaign with the Knights.

The news of his injury became apparent on Tuesday as NRL clubs were coming to grips with the suspension of the season and what it means for players, staff and the game as a whole.

The Knights are undefeated after their first two games and coach Adam O’Brien said the playing group remained optimistic about continuing once it’s safe.

“We’ve spoken all pre-season about being a resilient footy team and this is our turn to do it,” he said.

“We themed up our pre-season on the drought and that was a pretty long suspension that they had to go through, the farmers, they didn’t know when it was going to end.

“It’s our turn. We’ve just got to get on with it. I know it’s easy for me to say, especially with individuals having different circumstances, but ultimately we need to stick together, get rid of this thing and get life back to normal.”

The Knights will meet with the playing group at 9am on Wednesday and talk through where the club goes from here and what will be required of them during the suspension.