Penrith forward Elijah Taylor has been ruled out for the remainder of the NRL season after scans confirmed a fracture in his left hand.

Taylor sustained the break in the first tackle he made in the Panthers’ 19-12 loss to St George Illawarra at WIN Stadium on Thursday.

The 25-year-old will be sidelined for four to six weeks but does not require surgery.

Penrith have endured a swathe of injuries this season, including a serious ankle injury to star fullback Matt Moylan, and at 13th on the ladder are out of finals contention.