Winger Justin Carney will be sidelined for at least six months, after suffering a sickening leg injury during the Raiders' 34-28 win over the Gold Coast Titans at Canberra Stadium yesterday.
Carney was still awaiting surgery at Canberra Hospital last night, after snapping the tibia and fracturing the fibula in his right leg while attempting to tackle former teammate William Zillman.
The break was so severe the 20-year-old went into shock and medical staff had to administer morphine before stretchering him from the field.
It put a huge damper on the Raiders' second consecutive win against a top-four side and their climb to 10th on the NRL ladder.
Raiders centre Joel Monaghan described the feeling in the dressing-rooms post-match as akin to a loss, citing Carney's injury and the fact Canberra almost squandered a 22-point half-time lead as low points.
Monaghan, who was next to Carney when he broke his leg, described the injury as ''sickening''.
''I heard loud crack and I knew it wasn't good,'' Monaghan said.
''He's a pretty tough kid and to hear him scream you know something is wrong.
''I saw it and it looked pretty bad, so I told the other guys to look away.
''To see that happen to a close mate isn't good and I just hope he'll be okay.''
More Raiders news in today's Canberra Times