Sydney Roosters have been dealt another significant injury blow with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves facing at least the next two months on the sidelines.
Storm pip Roosters in wet-weather classic
Storm v Roosters: Five key points
The Kiwi prop suffered a strain to his left pectoral muscle less than half an hour into the Roosters' one-point defeat to the Storm on Saturday night.
He did not play any part in the second half.
The best-case scenario for such an injury is often a recovery time of at least six weeks while a worst case could spell the end of the 26-year-old's season.
Waerea-Hargreaves will undergo scans following the team's trip back home on Sunday.
Coach Trent Robinson was unsure as to the extent of the injury but was hardly filled with optimism when speaking post-game.
"It was a pec strain, not good enough to get back out there again," Robinson said.
"To not go back out there again doesn’t bode well but we will see in the next couple of days."
The injury will almost certainly rule Waerea-Hargreaves out of the upcoming Trans Tasman Test against Australia on May 1.
It is a crucial blow to the Roosters' forward pack that is already dealing with the provisional suspension of Martin Kennedy.
Experienced duo Aiden Guerra (jaw) and Blake Ferguson (ankle) are also not expected back for at least another month.
On the back of last week's extra time defeat to the Broncos, the Roosters again found themselves on the receiving end of a gut-wrenching result when Cooper Cronk kicked a final-minute drop goal to snatch victory.
The Roosters looked the better team for significant periods of the game but their inability to hit the scoreboard in those moments proved the difference.
"I thought it was a high quality game. I thought we dominated early and just lost it a bit before halftime, we just gave away some field position… which got them back to 10-all," Robinson said.
"We didn't get any penalties in the second half so we got no good ball position, we had to work for everything that we got.
"We missed a couple of opportunities that we could have finished off, it wasn't the case and they win the game."
The result leaves the Roosters with their backs well and truly against the wall seven games into 2015.
A current run of three straight defeats has now set up a crucial ANZAC Day clash with the in-form Dragons at Allianz Stadium.
