Gruesome injury will sideline Warriors' Luck
Micheal Luck's National Rugby League (NRL) season appears over after he was stretchered from the in-goal at Brookvale Oval with a gaping wound above his left knee tonight.
The inspirational New Zealand Warriors lock was taken by ambulance to an operating theatre at Royal North Shore Hospital so the 18cm-wide gash, which left flesh and muscle exposed, could be cleaned and sewn up.
Luck collapsed behind the tryline after he was accidentally raked by the boot of Manly second rower Anthony Watmough in the 68th minute of the Sea Eagles 19-16 victory.
The Sea Eagles enforcer did not escape unscathed from the collision either, he limped off after twisting an ankle.
Luck will not be available for the Warriors match against the Brisbane Broncos in Auckland on Friday night, even if he avoids infection.
The seventh-placed Warriors end their regular season against Parramatta, and need to win one of their remaining two games to be assured of making the top-eight play-offs.
Referee Jarrad Maxwell witnessed the impact on Luck's leg and told fellow match officials: "I don't want to see a replay of that."
Luck was taken from the field with his knee swathed in a towel - photographs taken by New Zealand Warriors doctor John Mayhew confirmed the extent of the injury.
A flap of skin covering almost the width of his thigh appears to be missing while the muscle is clearly exposed.
"It's a massive laceration. The sprigs have gone down and raked it.
"It will be cleaned up in theatre and then they'll explore to make sure there's no muscle underneath."
Dr Mayhew had seen only one similar injury during his extensive sports medicine career - during his time with the All Blacks, Wallabies fullback Andrew Leeds was the victim when he was rucked by prop Richard Loe.
Dr Mayhew said Luck's season was not necessarily over, only because of his durability.
"He's a pretty tough rooster. I'd say at least a couple of weeks but at this stage all bets are off. He's come back from some horrific injuries."
Luck's demise compounded a disappointing visit for the Warriors, who missed an opportunity to confirm their berth in the post-season.
"It was a good close game, nothing in it, and it's disappointing to lose when that's the case," said Warriors head coach Ivan Cleary, who lamented being on the wrong end of a 10-5 penalty count.
He conceded the Warriors hopes of securing home advantage by finishing in the top four had been dented.
"If you're losing against competitors and they go up and you don't it's hard."
However, he was impressed with his players' resolve.
"I think we can have confidence we can compete in the big games coming up," he said.
