Manly Sea Eagles prop Matt Lodge departed the field in the eighth minute of Thursday night's match against the Sydney Roosters, with it later confirmed that he had suffered an ACL injury.
It is a cruel blow for Lodge and the Sea Eagles, joining fellow forwards Josh Aloiai (shoulder) and Taniela Paseka (knee) in the Manly casualty ward.
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Matt Lodge NRL news: Manly prop suffers ACL injury against former club
Lodge will miss the remainder of the 2023 NRL season after suffering an ACL injury against the Roosters.
The incident occurred as he tackled Lindsay Collins, with his right knee appearing to buckle before he fell to the ground in clear pain.
"He has done his ACL, so he is going to be out for an extended period of time," Manly coach Anthony Seibold said in his post-match press conference.
"He is obviously shattered. We will pick up the pieces over the next couple of days but I feel for him and his family."
Unfortunate news with Manly suspecting an ACL injury for Matt Lodge. Hands on tests very accurate in these cases. Worth noting in 2020 Lodge suffered an ACL sprain in the same knee. If rupture confirmed would be facing likely reconstruction surgery & 6-9 month recovery period pic.twitter.com/aNSIpEBNkn
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) August 3, 2023
According to NRL Physio on Twitter, Lodge could face a recovery period of up to nine months if a rupture is confirmed.
He notably suffered an ACL sprain in the same knee in 2020.
Matt Lodge age, contract, next club
It has been an eventful few seasons in the NRL for Matt Lodge, playing for four different clubs in three years.
He agreed to a mid-season switch from the Brisbane Broncos to the New Zealand Warriors in 2021.
Lodge made 14 appearances for the Warriors before being released, where he was paid out the remainder of his AU$700,000 contract in full.
He then signed a short-term deal with the Roosters in July 2022 but missed a significant amount of time after suffering a facial fracture in early 2023.
In June he was granted a release from the Tricolours, with Manly picking him up on a train-and-trial deal for the remainder of the current season.
The 28-year-old's future in the NRL is now up in the air following his ACL injury.
He does not have a contract for 2024, and will likely spend a chunk of next year in rehabilitation.
Manly Sea Eagles injury list
| PLAYER | ISSUE | RETURN |
|---|---|---|
| Matt Lodge | Knee | TBC |
| Karl Lawton | Calf | Round 24 |
| Christian Tuipulotu | Knee | Round 25 |
| Taniela Paseka | Knee | Finals |
| Tom Trbojevic | Pectoral | Finals |
| Josh Aloiai | Shoulder | 2024 |
Manly Sea Eagles 2023 off-contract list
Ethan Bullemor, Kaeo Weekes, Morgan Boyle, Morgan Harper, Raymond Vaega, Gordon Chan Kum Tong, Jacob Sykes, Jamie Humphreys, Aaron Woods
