Josh Reynolds’s hard luck season has ended in more heartache with the Wests Tigers five-eighth having played his final game for 2018.
NRL.com understands Reynolds will undergo surgery on a troublesome shoulder injury and will play no further part in the Tigers’ desperate bid to climb into the top eight.
He could have played on through the pain however the injury has often left him without feeling through his arm and he didn’t want to jeopardise the club’s finals aspirations by soldiering through.
Reynolds and the Tigers have decided it is best for both parties that he undergoes immediate surgery in the hope of being fully fit for the 2019 season.
The former NSW representative has played just five games in an injury-riddled first season at the Wests Tigers after joining the club from the Bulldogs at the end of last year.
Things didn’t begin well for Reynolds, picking up a hamstring injury on the eve of the club’s opening match of the year against the Sydney Roosters.
Reynolds then suffered a shoulder injury in his first game back, and hasn’t fully recovered despite playing another four games in the middle of the season.
The final straw was the loss to the Gold Coast Titans a fortnight ago, in which he gallantly played on despite losing almost all feeling in one arm.