Darius Boyd tears Achilles tendon at Brisbane Broncos training, expected to miss six to nine months Star Brisbane Broncos recruit Darius Boyd tore his Achilles tendon at training, casting doubt over his prospects of playing in the 2015 NRL season. Boyd broke down on Friday morning at the end of his first week of training since returning to the club with which he debuted in 2006. The 27-year-old was immediately sent for scans, which confirmed the clubs worst fears. He will have surgery next Tuesday and is expected to miss six to nine months. Its tough, but Ill be back, the former Dragon and Knight said. Looking forward to getting back. Boyd returned to Red Hill this off-season, teaming up once again with long-time coach Wayne Bennett after seeking treatment for depression. Bennett almost immediately started rebuilding the side to his liking and that included letting full-back options Josh Hoffman and Ben Barba leave the club. Bennett said in his first media conference Boyd would be the teams number one, despite having a glut of options on the books, but it appears his plans now need to be rejigged. My initial thought is thats footy, thats life, we get on with it, Bennett told News Corp. I just saw Darius on the ground, hes done his Achilles, so thats the bottom line, its a six-month injury and we have to get on with life. They were just doing a simple training drill, we call them shuttles, and Darius did a turn and thats as simple as it will be. Its no-ones fault, it just happens. Theres nothing we can do now. If you do enough training in life, things like that will happen. It now appears either prospective five-eighth Anthony Milford, veteran centre Justin Hodges, or Super League recruit Greg Eden will step into the custodian role. Ill be there to help: Hodges Hodges has bounced back from torn Achilles tendon twice in the past five years and said the club was better equipped to handle recovery now than it once was. Speaking at the launch of the newly-instated All Stars game, Hodges said he was devastated for his team-mate. He came back here to start a new chapter of his footy career and his life, Hodges told reporters at the All Stars launch on the Gold Coast. Hes worked really hard the last six months and hes come back a different player, a different person. I was only saying the other day, you see him on the training field and around the club and hes helping the young guys out and I think that just how much hes matured as a player. For something like this to happen to him, its pretty shattering but hell be right ... Ill be there to help him and hes got some great staff as well. Its pretty shattering but hell be right ... Ill be there to help him and hes got some great staff as well. Justin Hodges Even so, Boyd has a long, hard road ahead of him. Hodges has spent more time recovering from injuries than most, but said coming back from his a ruptured Achilles was about as hard as it could get for a professional rugby league player. The Achilles has always been the worst one to come back from that Ive had, he said. Theres days where you think youre going really good and some days (you feel like) youre back a few months. Every days a different challenge. Despite sustaining his most recent tear in August 2013, the 32-year-old said he took special care stretching his Achilles every day. Its a long, hard road, but hes only 27. This is his first major operation so hell be fine, he said. Broncos chief executive Paul White said the clubs experience with Hodges injuries meant they were in a better position to help Boyd. #DariusBoyd #BrisbaneBroncos
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 05:05:13 +0000
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