Gold Coast’s worst fears have been confirmed after scans revealed Ryan James has suffered a torn ACL, ending the skipper’s NRL season.

The inspirational forward injured his right knee 12 minutes into the Titans’ 38-14 win over Newcastle on Sunday.

It is a major blow for the Gold Coast who had been buzzing from back-to-back NRL victories.

The injury wll sideline James for 12 months.

“Unfortunately Ryan James has suffered an ACL tear,” Titans head of performance Dan Ferris told Gold Coast website.

“We’ve had scans to confirm that today and he’ll have surgery this week and commence his rehab,”

James appeared to suffer the injury as he slid into Newcastle hooker Danny Levi when trying to pounce on a Titans kick.

However, Ferris said the damage had been done before the NSW Origin hopeful had collided with the Knights rake.

“It actually tore (before contact). He just caught it in an awkward position when he extended the leg and it twisted inside and unfortunately the ACL didn’t hold up,” he said.

“Knowing Ryan like I do, he’ll do everything he possibly can to come back bigger and stronger.

“We feel for him at the moment but we know he’ll get back to his best.”

Five-eighth Tyrone Roberts has taken over the captaincy ahead of Gold Coast’s away clash with Wests Tigers on Saturday.