Wallaby Jordie Petaia is in doubt for the rest of the Super Rugby season, and potentially Australia’s Test series against Wales, after suffering a shoulder dislocation in the Queensland Reds match against the Highlanders in Brisbane.
Petaia was hurt when he attempted to tackle Highlanders winger Timoci Tavatavanawai, 33 minutes into the match at Suncorp Stadium and he fell badly.
Jordan Petaia of the Reds is taken from the field injured. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
On the Stan Sport coverage Morgan Turinui said: “the word out of the Reds change room is he dislocated his shoulder and Reds medical staff had to help him get that back in. [It is] minimum 4-6 weeks to rehab that, if not worse. He’s in the changerooms with an arm in a sling. Not great news for Jordan Petaia and the Reds.
Tim Horan added: “Or for the Wallabies. You can rehab it for 6-8 weeks and see if it heals but the worst case scenario is an operation, and a reconstruction.”
The Super Rugby finals start on June 7.
The blow comes at a time when the Reds ranks are stretched thin. Petaia was having a rare start at No.13 in the absence of injured Josh Flook, while Tate McDermott and Fraser McReight were sidelined with bans suffered in the loss to Moana Pasifika last week.
Petaia started well against the Highlanders, as Queensland were attempting to beat the Kiwis for the first time since 2016, while his centre teammate Hunter Paisami crossed for a try within two minutes of the star.
Kalani Thomas impressed as a replacement for McDermott, as the home side went to a 17-0 halftime lead with lock Ryan Smith scoring in his 50th appearance after 19 phases of buildup.
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