Latrell Mitchell has lost his injury battle and been ruled out of State of Origin II.
The South Sydney star came into NSW camp with a calf complaint and was hopeful of recovering in time to take his place for the must-win game at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday.
However, the decision was made to rule him out and his replacement will be Panthers centre Stephen Crichton, who performed solidly in the opening encounter in Adelaide.
Mitchell was one of several Blues stars coming into camp under a fitness cloud including Cameron Murray (groin) and Liam Martin (concussion). Coach Brad Fittler has maintained he is comfortable that the squad will be ready to go despite only having two to three field sessions before Wednesday’s game.
Mitchell was an absentee during Wednesday’s media commitments, instead spending time trying to rehabilitate the injury. The early decision will give Crichton as much time as possible to be ready to resume his place in the centres alongside Tom Trbojevic.
Latrell Mitchell is out of State of Origin II.Credit: SMH
Asked on Wednesday if he felt he would be deemed fit, Murray said: “Right now I do, but things change, and rehab isn’t linear. You go through ups and downs, so I’m not stressing too much. I’m not trying to think too much about it.
“It’s just about staying sensible, and sticking strong to the rehab plan that the physios have put in front of me, taking it a day at a time, and ticking off everything that I need to tick off as the week progresses.”
More to come …
