Newcastle Knights superstar skipper Kalyn Ponga has all but ruled himself out for the remainder of the 2025 NRL season after suffering another serious foot injury.
“Obviously disappointing and gutted I’ll potentially miss out on the rest of the year, but it is what it is now,” Ponga told CODE Sports.
Follow-up scans confirmed Ponga would be ruled out of the upcoming State of Origin decider but now it can be revealed he will likely be unavailable for the rest of the year, unless Newcastle miraculously make a deep finals run.
The star fullback picked up a Lisfranc injury to his left foot during the Knights’ Round 17 loss to the Raiders in what is catastrophic news for the club and their fans.
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It is a cruel blow for the 27-year-old, who last season spent over two months on the sideline recovering from the same injury on the opposite foot in what is now surely a worrying trend for the often injured fullback.
The Knights say Ponga will begin his rehabilitation immediately with the loss of their superstar coming at a difficult time, sitting outside the top eight and needing a strong finish to stay in the finals hunt.
It will no doubt now put even more pressure on under fire coach Adam O'Brien who's tenure at Newcastle has been questioned all season.
As reported already, Ponga’s injury also forces a change at Origin level, with Queensland coach Billy Slater needing to shuffle his backline for Game 3 moving Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow to fullback and ushering in debutant centre Ghemat Shibasaki.
As has often been the case in recent times, another likley lost season for Newcastle heaps more pressure on Ponga and the clubs offseason with the patience for success continuing to wear thin on fans.