Australia’s Josh Mansour is facing a nervous wait about the extent of a potentially serious knee injury he sustained during Kangaroos training.
The Penrith wideman had locked in one of the wing spots for Saturday’s Four Nations line-up to face New Zealand, which will be announced on Thursday, following his impressive performance against Scotland in Hull.
Mansour scored twice and ran for a game-high 247 metres in the 54-12 win and was singled out for praise by coach Mal Meninga, who all but admitted he’d line up against the Kiwis in Coventry.
The 26-year-old fell to the ground during the latter stages of the team’s final training session at the St George’s Park complex in Staffordshire, in central England, and was taken from the field for scans.
Mansour cried out in pain and he was helped off the field after an innocuous-looking collision with Josh Dugan towards the end of a small-sided game between squad members which was immediately stopped.
He was accompanied to hospital by team doctor Chris Hall and physio Tony Ayoub and will undergo scans to assess the problem.
The setback is a crushing blow for Mansour, who suffered a medial ligament injury two years ago, and was planning to go on honeymoon in Europe at the conclusion of the tour following his recent wedding.
The Kangaroos will leave Burton, which is the state of the art training base of the English football team, on Thursday to head to Birmingham.
A win for either side will earn a spot in the final at Anfield on November 20.
Meninga and his staff will now have to rethink their line-up, which will almost certainly see the return of Darius Boyd, Matt Scott, Greg Inglis and Johnathan Thurston, who were rested last Friday.
Sydney Roosters outside back Blake Ferguson, who was going to lose out to Mansour and Valentine Holmes, is now likely to keep his place in the team.
There has also been speculation Cooper Cronk may be rested to preserve him for the England fixture at London’s Olympic Stadium on November 12.
If the Melbourne five-eighth is left out, James Maloney would be in line to win his second cap after debuting against the Scots..
