KALYN Ponga's powers of recovery will again be put to the test as Newcastle's captain races the clock to prove his fitness for Sunday week's clash with Canterbury at Accor Stadium.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ponga suffered a hip-pointer injury in Thursday night's 22-20 loss at home to Sydney Roosters while attempting to stop a try by winger Anthony Tupou in the 17th minute, and battled on under duress until half-time, when he received a series of pain-killing injections.
That enabled him to operate at close to full capacity in the second half, but after the game coach Adam O'Brien said his talismanic skipper was "very sore ... it's just pain management this one".
Ponga is likely to need a week of intensive physiotherapy treatment to have any chance of lining up against the Bulldogs, and Newcastle's medical staff will have to weigh up whether the better option is to give him a week off.
Hip-pointer injuries are notoriously painful.
"I've never had one, but apparently they're excruciating," O'Brien said.
Ponga, however, dealt with a similar dilemma last year when he sustained an injury to the AC joint in his shouder in the penultimate round, and recovered to feature in two play-off games.
"It was a remarkable job, what he's done for us," O'Brien said. "He's brave, tough. No-one can ever question that kid's toughness. I'm amazed."
Co-captain Jayden Brailey was just as impressed with Ponga's willingness to brave the pain barrier.
"He's tough as nails," Brailey said. "I think everyone sees all the flairy stuff he does on the field, and all the X-factor he brings for us as a footy side, but that toughness can't be questioned.
"He does it week in, week out. He brings the ball back with venom every single week and he cares about this footy side. He's our leader, so it means a lot to the whole playing group."
Ponga told Channel Nine he was hopeful the injury "shouldn't be too bad".
"I was never going to come off myself," he said. "I got needled at half-time and just wait and see how it was, and I was sweet in the second half."
A further complication for O'Brien is that the man considered Ponga's likely back-up fullback, English import Will Pryce, limped off in Thursday's NSW Cup clash and was wearing a protective boot after the game.
Pryce has been playing five-eighth in reserve grade but was regularly deployed as the last line of defence at his former Super League club, Huddersfield.
If both players were unavailable next weekend, veteran centre Dane Gagai - who has played 27 top-grade games as custodian - would be an option for O'Brien, along with young flyer David Armstrong, who is yet to make his NRL debut.
