Johnathan Thurston’s hopes of a State of Origin farewell are officially over, with the North Queensland halfback ruled out for the rest of the NRL season with a shoulder injury.

A shattered Thurston will undergo surgery on his right rotator cuff after scans revealed multiple injuries in his shoulder after Wednesday night’s 18-16 Queensland State of Origin win.

The injury will also all but certainly end his Kangaroos career, with the champion playmaker admitting turning out in the end-of-year World Cup before his representative retirement was no longer a reality.

“It’s pretty shattering,” Thurston said.

“I got the scan and the news isn’t good.

“I thought I might be able to pump one or two more games out. But the medical advice I’ve been given is if you want to live a healthy life after football, it’s best to get this done now.”

The news caps off a disastrous year for the four-time Dally M Medallist.

The 34-year-old injured his calf in the Cowboys’ round six loss to the Wests Tigers in early April, and was forced to race the clock to be fit for May’s Anzac Test.

He then injured his shoulder in that match, and only made his return for the Cowboys in the week before he went into camp for Origin II.

But Cowboys coach Paul Green insisted on Friday they had not rushed the 299-game NRL veteran back early.

“At that stage when we did decide that he was physically right to play, he passed all medical markers in terms of strength, stability in the shoulder.

“There was always a risk of him re-injuring it, everyone knew that at the start.

“The nature of the initial injury wasn’t such that we thought he needed surgery there and then.

“But given what’s happened on Wednesday night has made it worse. There is really no other option at this stage.”

Thurston played on after he suffered the blow late in the first half when he made a tackle on Blues forward Tyson Frizell, as he hoped it was only a muscle cork.

He eventually went on to kick the match-winning goal from the sideline, keeping the Maroons’ hopes of an 11th series victory in 12 years alive.

But the Queensland and Kangaroos veteran said he would not entertain the thought of extending his representative career into next season, where he is still contracted to the Cowboys.

“It’s a decision that I’ve made,” he said.

“I wanted to finish on a high this year with representative football. I’m comfortable with that decision I’ve made to retire from rep football.”