'Not real good': Bulldogs boss Phil Gould confirms extent of horror night for Stephen Crichton
Updated . First published
A trio of Bulldogs stars have been under an injury cloud for the past 24 hours following their 26-18 loss to the Melbourne Storm, but Canterbury boss Phil Gould has confirmed the fate of all the club's injured stars.
It was an update Bulldogs fans were hoping would be better than it was as the club prepares to play out the rest of the season without their skipper.
Stephen Crichton was one of the biggest outs for the club, having landed awkwardly on his leg when attempting to make a tackle on Storm gun Joe Chan.
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Crichton failed to move any faster than a light jog until a call was made to pull the star centre from the field and he was soon spotted on crutches and in a moon boot.
Stephen Crichton Getty
Initial fears were a possible Lisfranc injury, with coach Cameron Ciraldo admitting that things "were not looking great" for Crichton.
Gould confirmed it is a moderate grade syndesmosis injury combined with a joint sprain.
"He has no Lisfranc fracture which is good," he said on Nine's coverage on Saturday.
"But he has a moderate grade syndesmosis, which is not good. He also has a tarso-metatarsal joint [the joint that connects the toes to the sole of the foot] strain.
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"If you don't know what that is don't feel bad because neither do I. It's a doctors term for something that is not real good.
"If it was a normal season it is a two to four-week (recovery) period.
"We will see how far we get and how we go."
The general manager also confirmed Enari Tuala had a fractured leg and wouldn't play again this season.
As for Viliame Kikau, there have been reports he had fractured his eye socket as he was forced to leave the field after copping an elbow to the face.
It was the Storm's first set with the ball when the Bulldogs second-rower went down and laid still on the turf clutching at his face.
Surprisingly, the enforcer was deemed to be displaying category two symptoms and after passing his HIA in the sheds, was cleared to return to the field.
Gould humorously revealed the club has no clue if reports of a fracture are true.
Viliame Kikau Nine
"We don't know if he has got a fracture because he won't go and get an X-ray," he said.
"He flies by the idea that if it is not X-rayed, you don't find out - but it is no worse than what it was after the previous week."
Canterbury will take on the Panthers next week in the semi finals, while the Storm have earned a week off and will host a prelim final the following weekend.
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