Parramatta’s season from hell just got a whole lot worse with inspirational captain Clint Gutherson to miss up to five weeks after he underwent a minor operation on his knee.
The Eels are languishing in 14th and are already without influential halfback Mitchell Moses, who is likely to be out for at least another month following surgery on a fractured foot.
They’ve really struggled in attack, and losing Gutherson may be the final straw for a Parramatta side that looks set to miss the finals for the second year in a row as pressure continues to mount on coach Brad Arthur.
They were much better in the first half against Manly but fell away in the final 40 minutes while Maika Sivo was in the sin bin.
Gutherson is one of the fittest players in the league but required surgery last season after giving absolutely everything he could on the field.
He spoke in the pre-season and said his body had never felt better, with the Eels likely to turn to rookie Blaize Talagi to fill in at fullback.
“I had surgery a couple of days after the (Penrith) game and just got on the front foot and only got back into full training a couple of weeks ago,” he said a couple of months ago.
“I had a bit of a modified pre-season for me which has been good, hopefully it’ll add a couple of years to my career.
“But look, it’s been fine. No dramas, no hiccups whatsoever, just have to let it heal.
“No matter what happened in that game, that last game was always going to get it fixed up and cleaned out.
“But look, it’s just that wear and tear of footy that gets a hold of you.”