Fifita ruled out of restart as Broncos keep training options open

Broncos coach Anthony Seibold has confirmed David Fifita will miss at least one game due to knee surgery as the club awaits government discussions that will dictate on which side of the Tweed players return to training.

Fifita is not expected to be fit for the NRL's planned May 28 competition restart after going under the knife to "repair" his lateral meniscus in his knee several weeks ago.

Brisbane did no place a time frame on Fifita's recovery when they announced the back-rower's surgery on Monday, but Seibold allayed fears he would be ruled out long-term.

A mid-June comeback for the rising Maroons rookie has been touted, but Seibold was reluctant to nail down Fifita's comeback date until his squad returns to training next week.

"[Fifita] won't be right for May 28 but I won't give any time frame after that," Seibold told NRL.com.

"He will be able to play plenty of games for the Broncos this year though.

"He hurt his knee in round one, and obviously played very well against South Sydney in round two.

"It made sense to have the repair done while we weren't playing.

"You have to understand we were talking about the game not getting up and running until August or September.

"Often these repairs are done at the end of the season and we had the time at the time.

"It's great that we're coming back May 28 but David will be about seven or eight weeks into his rehab by then. We won't put any pressure on David or the medical staff to get him back before he's ready."

Fifita's absence in round three is expected to be offset by the returns of key forwards Matt Lodge (knee), Alex Glenn (hamstring) and Joe Ofahengaue (club suspension).

Seibold and his staff meanwhile are back at Brisbane's $27 million Clive Berghofer Centre in preparation for the players' return to training next week.

Whether that takes place at Red Hill or Brisbane's 'Plan B' facilities at Kingscliff on the NSW North Coast rests with Friday's National Cabinet meeting, where protocols around the return of all sport from grassroots to elite levels will be discussed.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and ARL Commission chairman Peter V'landys held a "positive" meeting on Tuesday around whether exemptions would be granted for Brisbane, North Queensland and the Gold Coast to return to group training in the Sunshine State.

Unless an exemption is granted, those three teams will be required to relocate to NSW to train together, but Palaszczuk said a decision may not come until next week.

"I had a very positive meeting yesterday with the NRL," Palaszczuk said on Wednesday morning.

"What we have agreed is that their health experts would be speaking with ours and looking through that plan.

"National Cabinet is meeting Friday to look at principles around how elite sports can operate. We’ll be having further discussions Friday afternoon.

"It may be next week [before a decision is made]. The key for a lot of these sporting codes is training so we need to prioritise that."

Should Brisbane be required to shift south of the border to train, it's hoped it would only be a short term measure given continued falling COVID-19 trends and the gradual easing of state-by-state restrictions.

Whatever the location, Seibold said the club would be ready to go full tilt in the 24 days before the competition's return.

"We'll be training on Monday, and being optimistic it will be here but Plan B is a base in Kingscliff ready to go," Seibold said.

"We're very respectful of whatever decision is made by our Premier and we support her in whatever decision is made.

"Whether it's here at the broncos or at Kingscliff I know the appropriate procedures have been put in place."