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Horrific twist in NRL's early return from virus shutdown

Alex Glenn, pictured here in action for the Broncos against the Eels in the NRL.
Alex Glenn was rushed to hospital for surgery. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Brisbane captain Alex Glenn will undergo surgery on Friday after suffering a horrific cut to his leg during the opening half of Thursday's 34-6 NRL loss to Parramatta.

The Broncos' veteran missed the entire second half of the defeat as the NRL season resumed following a 10-week hiatus due to the COVID-19 crisis.

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The match at Suncorp Stadium was Glenn's first since being appointed Broncos captain after missing the opening two matches with a hamstring injury.

In his absence the Broncos conceded 22 points to nil as the Eels romped to a comfortable win.

Whether Glenn's cut just needs a clean out and stitches or more complex treatment won't be known until he goes under the knife but he will be in doubt for Thursday's clash with Sydney Roosters in Brisbane.

The NRL Physio Twitter account reported the laceration was “deep enough to reach tibia (lower leg bone)”.

“The depth of the laceration likely makes the risk of infection quite high,” NRL Physio Brien Seeney also replied to a fan.

Alex Glenn’s latest injury setback

With David Fifita (knee) already sidelined and Tevita Pangai Jnr suspended until round six, Glenn's absence would leave the Broncos short on backrow options against the reigning premiers.

Broncos coach Anthony Seibold admitted he has some selection issues to consider.

“We'll probably have our three key edge backrowers gone ... we'll have to see what we do there,” Seibold said.

“Alex is going to have surgery tomorrow morning from what the doctor tells me.

“He’s had a really deep cut so they need to intervene with surgery just to make sure it’s clean and sew it back up and so on, so they’ll do that tomorrow morning.

“But yeah, he did that in the first half and obviously came off at halftime.

“I didn’t actually get an opportunity to talk to Alex, he went straight to the doctor at halftime and I just got a message to say he won’t be coming back on.”

TV cameramen, pictured here wearing masks and gloves due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
TV cameramen are seen wearing masks and gloves due to the COVID-19 restrictions. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Prop Payne Haas played a bit of a lone hand against the Eels, racking up 164 running metres and making 38 tackles in another impressive display by the 20-year-old.

Having got through his first game since an ACL injury in pre-season, Matt Lodge will be better for having had a run while.

Fellow returnee Joe Ofahengaue will be hoping for a busier night against the Roosters after making a low-key comeback following suspension for the opening two rounds.

Seibold was hopeful his team would respond better to adversity in the future than they had against the Eels.

“Losing Alex at halftime, had to shuffle a few players around, just probably we didn't quite handle that,” he said.

“They're big outs but it's not the reason why we lost.”

with Yahoo Sports Staff