The ankle injury suffered by Canterbury Bulldogs new recruit Connor Tracey is apparently worse than first anticipated.
The utility, who unexpectedly left the Cronulla Sharks last week to join the Bulldogs and their 2024 roster, was said to have damaged his ankle around the time he joined with the Bulldogs.
However, it has now been revealed that his ankle injury will not only impede his pre-season, but will also keep him out of a significant portion of the early going in 2024, with the utility unlikely to be available before Round 6, according to journalist Michelle Bishop, who told SEN Radio that the ankle injury is a ‘bad roll.’
“Connor Tracey had a bit of an accident at training,” Bishop explained on the show SEN 1170 The Run Home.
“He rolled his ankle 24 hours before he actually did the deal (and) signed the new contract at the Bulldogs.”
“It wasn’t just a bad roll; it was a really bad roll; he’ll be out.”
“He will almost certainly miss the first five or six weeks of next season.”
“(He) can’t do much preseason which is a massive blow and you hate to seeing this with rugby league players.”
The player swap that allowed Tracey to switch clubs – which was completed on Thursday and would see teenager Michael Gabrael return to the Shire – was expected to put Tracey in a crowded struggle for a backline Bulldogs shirt.
Although he appears to want to play fullback at Belmore, a long shot given the club has signed Stephen Crichton on big money to fill the role after he left the Penrith Panthers for what appears to be the same reason.
Tracey’s injury will now set him back even more, with the utility missing a significant amount of training as well as the first few games of the season before potentially pushing his way back into the Belmore team under Cameron Ciraldo.
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