Daly Cherry-Evans faces a battle to be fit for the start of the State of Origin series after the Manly Sea Eagles captain suffered an ankle injury that will keep him out for up to six weeks.
Cherry-Evans limped out of Sunday's 24-20 NRL victory over Canberra Raiders early in the second half at Lottoland.
The halfback met with specialists on Monday and will be out for at least a month due to a syndesmosis strain of his right ankle.
Cherry-Evans has been in outstanding form this season and was the favourite to be Queensland Maroons skipper in a series that starts on June 5.
It remains to be seen if he will be fit for the opener against New South Wales Blues at Suncorp Stadium.
Meanwhile, the injury-hit Cronulla Sharks will be without Shaun Johnson for a month due to a torn hamstring.
The playmaker joins team-mates Matt Moylan (hamstring), Aaron Woods (fractured foot) and Wade Graham (ACL) on the injury list after pulling up in a defeat to Brisbane Broncos on Saturday.
There is better news of Josh Dugan, who could feature against Melbourne Storm on Friday after missing out last weekend with a hamstring problem.
