South Sydney's Campbell Graham is set to miss most of the NRL season after having sternum surgery.
Graham has been troubled by the injury for months and played most of the 2023 campaign with the help of painkilling injections and protective padding.
The centre was forced to drop out of the NSW State of Origin camp last year because the injury restricted his ability to train.
The 24-year-old has finally taken the plunge to go under the knife, with Souths releasing a statement on Thursday saying he would be out for "up to six months", but would return for the back end of their campaign.
The loss of the workmanlike centre is a significant blow for Jason Demetriou as the Rabbitohs bid to return to the top eight after last year's mid-season implosion led to them missing the finals.
Graham would have been an outside chance of featuring for new Blues coach Michael Maguire, but it now appears he will have to wait until 2025 to make his Origin debut.
The Australian international's injury means that Isaiah Tass will start as one centre in the club's season opener against Manly in Las Vegas next month. Demetriou will be looking for another centre to fill the void as new recruit Jack Wighton, the obvious choice, is suspended.
