Luckless Sydney Roosters centre Billy Smith’s wretched injury run has continued, with the youngster to be out of action for four months after shoulder surgery.
The Roosters confirmed on Wednesday that Smith injured his shoulder at training last week, forcing him to go under the knife.
Smith’s injury is the latest blow for the man who was a year ago expected to replace Latrell Mitchell at the NRL club.
The 21-year-old Smith scored tries in the centres in his only two NRL matches in 2019, but suffered a season-ending ACL blow in January 2020.
That prompted the Roosters to bring Josh Morris to the club, shoring up their backline as the veteran and twin brother Brett excelled.
Smith would likely have been one of the Roosters’ first back-up options in 2021, but will not be unavailable until the middle of the season.