Mal Meninga has copped a major blow ahead of Australia's Pacific Championships campaign with Penrith star and reigning Clive Churchill Medal winner Liam Martin ruled out of the tournament.
The Panthers backrower played a starring role for his club as they claimed a fourth straight premiership with a 14-6 win over Melbourne last week.
However, Martin revealed post-match that he had been battling through various injuries throughout the campaign and admitted he struggled to see out the game against the Storm.
MORE: Pacific Championships - Every nation's squad for tournaments
Kangaroos suffer injury blow as Liam Martin ruled out of Pacific Championships
"I did the ribs leading up to the Roosters’ [qualifying final], I did it during a wrestle session believe it or not," Martin told The Sydney Morning Herald after the decider.
"I struggled to train that week, and got it needled up. I doubled up last week [against the Sharks] because it did nothing.
"It was tender tonight. But as the night went on, it felt alright. I couldn’t do anything during the week at training."
The backrower, who became the first forward to be awarded the Clive Churchill Medal since Luke Lewis did so for Cronulla in 2016, also revealed he had been dealing with a persistent shoulder issue during the season.
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"The AC has scarred over, but I’ve had that needled each week since I did it back in Round 4 against the Roosters," Martin added.
The injury issues have finally now caught up to the Panthers and New South Wales player as he has dropped out of the side.
Martin was initially named as part of Meninga's 21-man squad to take on New Zealand and Samoa as they seek to capture the Pacific Cup for the first time since its inception last year.
Who will replace Liam Martin for the Kangaroos?
Canberra backrower Hudson Young has replaced Martin in the squad.
The Raiders forward was listed in the preliminary Australia squad, which was revealed before the official announcement was made, but he was unable to find a spot in the trimmed down team on Monday.
However, he has now replaced Martin after being withdrawn from the Australia Prime Minister's XIII clash against their Papua New Guinea counterparts on Sunday afternoon in Port Moresby.
