Broncos young gun undergoes ACL surgery

Broncos forward Keenan Palasia has undergone surgery after suffering an ACL injury at training.

The 22-year-old had surgery on Tuesday and will not be available for Brisbane until late in the 2020 season at the earliest.

It is a cruel blow for the rugged forward who made his NRL debut for the Broncos against Cronulla this year.

Palasia had a train and trial contract at the start of the 2019 season but did not initially gain an NRL contract.

He then hit top form for Wynnum-Manly in the Intrust Super Cup and won selection in the Queensland Residents team.

Palasia started a job in a bank but soon gave in his notice after securing an NRL deal with Brisbane and is part of their top 30 squad for 2020.

He is contracted until the end of the 2021 season at the Broncos and is expected to make a full recovery despite previously undergoing knee surgery. Brisbane will not be rushing him back as a result.

The Broncos are set to welcome all their players back to training on Monday including captain Darius Boyd and Tongan international Tevita Pangai jnr.

Veteran hooker Andrew McCullough and Maroons forward Joe Ofahengaue returned this week.