Lima to have surgery on fractured hand

Prop Jeff Lima is facing a stint on the sideline after fracturing his hand in Canberra’s last-minute 24-20 NRL loss to Gold Coast.

Scans on Saturday night revealed Lima suffered damage to the second metarcarpal in his left hand and will have surgery this week.

A timeline on his return will be clearer after the operation.

It wasn’t all bad news for the club, with winger Edrick Lee cleared post-match of any serious thumb injury.

He is likely to be available for next Monday’s clash with Canterbury at Belmore.

Lima joins Blake Austin (knee), Aidan Sezer (eye socket) and Adam Clydesdale (shoulder) in the Raiders’ casualty ward after just four rounds.

“It doesn’t look real flash for us,” coach Ricky Stuart said.

Austin and Sezer are unlikely to be rushed in for the match against the Bulldogs, but could be available for their battle with Parramatta at Pirtek Stadium the following Saturday. Joey Leilua returns from suspension this week.

Even without their star halves the Raiders had looked set to continue their unbeaten start to the season against the Titans and move to the top of the ladder.

They led 20-6 with 15 minutes left at GIO Stadium, but lost it all with a string of errors, a costly penalty to Frank-Paul Nuuausala for his hit on Titan Ryan James, and a pair of “soft” tries.

“If you’re going to do something in this comp you can’t afford those types of tries,” Stuart said.

The Titans, who allegedly briefly fielded an extra man in the second half, sealed the win via a controversial try in the 79th minute to John Olive.

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