Brisbane Broncos star recruit Darius Boyd has suffered a suspected torn Achilles tendon at training and is facing up to nine months on the sidelines.
It is a bitter blow for the Queensland State of Origin outside back who returned to Red Hill for the 2015 NRL season after stints at St George Illawarra and Newcastle.
Boyd went down at training on Friday, News Corp reported, in what was his first week back on the field after spending time in a mental health clinic to treat depression.
Boyd followed mentor Wayne Bennett back to Brisbane where he was to assume the fullback position.
“I just saw Darius on the ground, he’s done his Achilles, so that’s the bottom line. It’s a six-month injury and we have to get on with life,” Bennett told News Corp.
“They were just doing a simple training drill, we call them shuttles, and Darius did a turn and that’s as simple as it will be. It’s no-ones fault, it just happens.
“There’s nothing we can do now. If you do enough training in life, things like that will happen.”
Boyd went down during the early morning session and his teammates reported hearing a popping sound.
Boyd’s injury leaves Bennett with a dilemma after off-loading fullbacks Josh Hoffman and Ben Barba to make room in the salary cap.
Canberra recruit Anthony Milford has played most of his NRL career at fullback but Bennett has flagged his intentions to use him at five-eighth.
Centre Justin Hodges shifted to fullback for the last three matches of the 2014 season while English Super League recruit Greg Eden is another option.
