JUST as their premiership defence looked to be getting back on track, Manly learnt yesterday that Brett Stewart needed surgery on his knee and would be sidelined for up to 12 weeks.
After being suspended for the first four weeks of the season for drunken behaviour, Stewart had returned to a winless side in blistering form, and the injury sustained against Souths at the weekend is a body blow, both for him and the club.
But Manly were adamant yesterday the loss of their star fullback for up to three months would not derail their premiership defence, with chief executive Grant Mayer saying the Sea Eagles would not "fall back into the type of form we showed in the first four weeks".
Mayer was also confident Stewart, who is facing a sexual assault charge following an incident after the club's season launch, would be able to deal with the setback, saying the intense rehabilitation program would help keep his mind off the problems he faced away from football.
"His rehab program will keep him heavily focused," Mayer said. "He's aiming to come back sooner once the operation is done. Understandably he's very disappointed."
Mayer 9;s view was supported by sports psychologist Jeff Bond, who said Stewart had proved he would not be distracted by the impending court hearings.
"Athletes are very good at dealing with setbacks and part of that is insulating themselves," said Bond, a sports psychologist at the AIS for over 20 years and the author of a paper on the psychology of elite athletes. "Clubs can form a cocoon - both legal people and club people surround them … Athletes can either be distracted by it or they go the other way. This guy has gone the other way and he'll come back strong again. He'll focus on the rehabilitation process and he will do everything possible to comeback early and he will perform strongly again."
Early indications after the game against South Sydney were that Stewart had not suffered too much damage but subsequent tests indicated it was a similar right knee injury to the one that required surgery in 2007.
Manly coach Des Hasler agreed the injury would not set Stewart back too far and suggested he, too, would not be surprised to see the player return earlier than expected.
"It was shocking luck for Brett but he is a strong character and will work hard on his rehabilitation and minimise his time on the sideline," Hasler said.
South Sydney utility Craig Wing saw how influential Stewart can be for the Manly side when the Rabbitohs lost 24-8 to the Sea Eagles on Saturday, with Stewart scoring two tries to take his tally to five in just two games since his return.
"I suppose he's like a security blanket for Manly," Wing said. "He's always safe up the back there. You don't want to kick the ball to Brett Stewart, you want to kick away from him."
Wing also knows what it is like to spend lengthy stints on the sideline due to injury and predicted Stewart could face a tough road ahead.
While the initial weeks of rehabilitation are tolerable, it can get harder as the weeks go on, said Wing, who added: "The rep season is just rolling around and players get called up and his past form he would have been a certainty to play.
"That's a tough one for Brett."
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