Queensland prop Dylan Napa is in serious doubt for State of Origin II with an ankle injury while Michael Morgan is waiting on scans for a possible bicep tear.
In a bloodbath of a Friday night, Morgan left the field early for North Queensland in their loss to the Warriors before Napa joined him in the casualty ward in Sydney.
They Sydney Roosters prop limped from the field in their flogging of Penrith on after his left ankle was twisted in a tackle.
He didn’t return and will undergo scans for a potential sydesmosis injury, but coach Trent Robinson admitted he didn’t expect him to recover within nine days for Queensland’s must-win clash.
“Watching him run out on the field, usually it would hold up a bit better there if it was a one-weekend,” Robinson said.
Meanwhile, Morgan was injured after attempting to make a tackle on a runaway Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
“He’ll go for scans, work out what’s wrong,” North Queensland coach Paul Green said.
Maroons coach Kevin Walters said with Game II looming, the side didn’t have a lot of time for injuries to heal.
“It’s a tough time for players and this last weekend again before Origin two has been quite telling for the Maroons,” he told Fox Sports.
The blows come after Billy Slater withdrew from Melbourne’s clash with Cronulla on Saturday night as he continues to battle the hamstring strain that kept him out of Origin I.
The Storm are confident he will be fit for the June 24 fixture but it means the veteran will have to come into it without playing a game in more than a month.
The Maroons were already reeling coming into the series following the retirements of Cameron Smith, Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk.
Morgan’s injury could well open the door for young star Kalyn Ponga to make his Queensland debut, either starting at fullback if Slater doesn’t recover or off the bench.
It wasn’t just the Maroons who copped bad news on Friday night, with NSW prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard suffering a suspected broken jaw and Latrell Mitchell stretchered off on a medicab after hurting his neck in a Nathan Clearly tackle.
Both will undergo scans, and while Mitchell is considered a chance to recover, Campbell-Gillard’s prognosis is less hopeful.