Souths superstar Latrell Mitchell to have KNEE SURGERY on top of hamstring tear

Souths superstar Latrell Mitchell set to have KNEE SURGERY on top of hamstring tear that has knocked him out of the game for two months

Rabbitohs fullback will have minor knee surgery, recovery time is 4-6 weeks
Latrell Mitchell is already sidelined after recent tendon tear in his hamstring
South Sydney superstar also wants to be fit for NSW’s State of Origin squad
Game 1 of series versus Queensland is at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on June 8

By Andrew Prentice For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 06:22 BST, 19 April 2022 | Updated: 06:22 BST, 19 April 2022

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South Sydney superstar Latrell Mitchell will have surgery on his knee this week while he also recovers from a serious hamstring injury.

Mitchell, 24, had been battling a knee complaint after suffering a tear in the tendon of his left hamstring earlier this month, ruling him out of NRL action for at least eight weeks.

On Tuesday, the Rabbitohs confirmed their gun fullback will go under the knife – but his recovery time won’t change.

‘It was well publicised before that hamstring injury that he [Mitchell] had a knee complaint that we had been managing quite well for a couple of weeks,’ club physiotherapist Eddie Farah said.

‘He will undergo an arthroscopic procedure to shave that little bit of cartilage in the knee.

‘Recovery from that type of surgery is usually four to six weeks, so it won’t set back his timeline at all with the hamstring injury.’

South Sydney superstar Latrell Mitchell will have surgery on his knee this week – while he also recovers from a serious hamstring injury

His recovery time of eight weeks will stay the same, as Mitchell also eyes off a spot in Brad Fittler’s NSW State of Origin squad in early June

Farah also stated the club felt now was the ‘best time to get that (minor) surgery done … to give Latrell the best chance to find full fitness for the back end of the season’.

The Rabbitohs will desperately want Mitchell at his best for this year’s NRL finals, after having to get through the latter stage of the past two campaigns without him due to injury in 2020 and suspension last year.

Many Souths fans believe if Mitchell played in the NRL grand final last year at Suncorp Stadium, it would have been the Rabbitohs – not the Panthers – who were crowned premiers.

Replacement fullback Blake Taaffe has proven to be capable in the number one jersey, but in Mitchell the Rabbitohs have one of the most dynamic players in the competition when he is firing on all cylinders.

Mitchell is also working towards being named in NSW’s State of Origin squad ahead of Game I on June 8 in Sydney.

If Mitchell fails to prove his fitness to coach Brad Fittler, NSW are spoilt for options when it comes to his possible replacement at left centre.

Brisbane’s Kotoni Staggs and Penrith’s Stephen Crichton are looming large, with Canterbury’s Matt Burton also in the mix to partner Manly sensation Tom Trbojevic.

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