Anthony Milford requires surgery after dislocating his shoulder
ANTHONY Milford is walking an injury tightrope, with the Broncos sensation requiring surgery in a potentially savage blow to Brisbane’s premiership hopes.
Coach Wayne Bennett last night confirmed Milford must go under the knife after dislocating his shoulder in last Friday’s hard-fought defeat of South Sydney.
But Brisbane are prepared to gamble with Milford, hoping a six-week rehabilitation period can give the attacking whiz sufficient strength in his shoulder to see out the season.
It was initially reported Milford would not require surgery but a shoulder specialist told the Queensland Origin rookie an operation was inevitable.
The best-case scenario is for Milford to have surgery after the NRL grand final – effectively ruling him out of World Cup calculations for either Australia or Samoa.
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga had Milford on his selection radar for the end-of-season tournament but the Broncos will urge the 22-year-old to undergo rehabilitation as soon as possible.
Milford could be back for Brisbane’s clash against Canterbury in Round 20, meaning he faces playing through the pain barrier for almost three months if Brisbane reach the NRL decider.
“Anthony definitely needs surgery,” Bennett said.
“He is basically a 50-50 chance of getting through, that is the advice we have got from the specialist.
“He will have some surgery at some stage, hopefully at the end of the year.
“We have got nothing to lose, so we may as well give it a go and see how Anthony handles it.
“He’s such an important part of what we do, so it’s worth a shot.”
Milford has experience with surgery – as a 16-year-old he had a reconstruction on his right shoulder. He dislocated his left shoulder against the Rabbitohs.
The Broncos’ title prospects would be seriously dented if their most dangerous attacking weapon was unable to finish the season.
“The medical staff are quite amazing these days, so we’re hoping we can get Anthony right,” Bennett said.
“Guys have played with this injury before and got through the season so we’ll rehab him, strap him up and hope for the best.
“I remember when I was at the Dragons, in the year we won the premiership in 2010, Neville Costigan got the same injury and we managed to get him through the season.
“Apparently there was some previous damage in there from an old injury.
“Anthony has had surgery before but it was on his other shoulder, so we’re hopeful he will come back OK.”
Former Maroons lock Scott Sattler, who played three-quarters of the 2000 season with a busted shoulder, said Milford’s battle will be largely mental.
“Physically, he can do it, but it will require a lot of mental toughness to get through the season,” Sattler said.
“He will find himself in situations where he will try and protect his shoulder, especially in defence.”
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...r/news-story/ee0560c894db29d1c198f64384aeb667
So it's definitely coming from Bennett then.
