Petaia 'dejected' as injury puts season on ice

The Queensland Reds will be sweating on a final prognosis for Jordan Petaia after he dislocated his shoulder in the round nine match against the Highlanders.

Petaia rose from an innocuous-looking tackle clutching his shoulder just short of half-time and was attended to by medical staff.

He wandered from the field, visibly in pain and was replaced by Lawson Creighton who went on to score a try.

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Petaia wasn't seen again in the match and early indications are that the utility suffered a dislocated shoulder.

That could end his Super Rugby Pacific season and potentially compromise his chances of being selected for the Wallabies squad to play Wales and Georgia.

"News out of the Reds changing rooms is that he dislocated his shoulder and the medical staff helped him get that back in," said Morgan Turinui on Stan Sport's coverage.

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"Worse than a subluxation. You get a minimum of four to six weeks normally for him to rehab that, if not worse.

"I think he's in the changing room at the moment with his arm in a sling. Not great news for Jordan Petaia and the Reds."

Reds head coach Les Kiss said he saw Petaia briefly after the incident.

"The scans will prove everything tomorrow," said Kiss.

"I won't make any assessment on that until we get the scans."

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Tim Horan said it was a "blow" not only for the Reds but for the Wallabies too.

The match against the Highlanders marked the first time in 18 months that Petaia had played in the centres for the Reds.

Horan warned surgery could be forthcoming depending on the severity of the injury for the "dejected" player.

"You can rehab it for six to eight weeks and see if it heals but the worst case scenario is an operation and reconstruction," he said.https://twitter.com/StanSportRugby/status/1781283265950912635

Petaia's injury was the only real concern for the Reds in a dominant performance against the Highlanders.

Playing in Brisbane, Les Kiss' men were 31-0 winners.

The Reds scored four tries courtesy of Hunter Paisami, Ryan Smith, Lawson Creighton, and Suliasi Vunivalu.

The Reds will host the Blues in round 10 on April 27.