And he's vowed to the Green Machine his season isn't over and he'll do everything he can to get back on the park this year.

That would be a big boost for the Raiders, whose middle forward stocks have taken a further hit this weekend with injuries to Sia Soliola and Emre Guler.

Horsburgh underwent surgery on his foot on Tuesday after hurting his Lisfranc ligaments when he twisted awkwardly in a tackle against Parramatta.

The 22-year-old struggled to control his emotions after hearing something pop and knowing he'd done something serious.

He showed his displeasure to the Eels players and then to their fans, giving them the finger as he came off the field.

It's that passionate side of his game that has quickly made Horsburgh a fan favourite.

He'll get in touch with the Raiders' sports psychologist for the first time this year having "been good lately".

"I was obviously a bit angry, but when I hurt myself I knew it was bad because I felt the pop and the crack," Horsburgh said.

"I just let the emotion get the better of me and it probably came out the wrong way.

"But I'm going to learn from that. Obviously I'm not very good at hiding my emotions as everyone's seen a few times.

"I want to learn to control my emotions a bit better, but I'm not going to change the way I play by any means. I don't really regret it. I do apologise.

"I'm going to go see the psychologist fella again, just to chat with him again. I stopped doing it all this year.

"I'm going to go back to him and see if there's anything I can work on ... just try to help in a little way.

"I've been good lately - I haven't had to see him until the weekend."

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While he wants to control them better, the lovable redhead has no problems with showing his emotions.

It's something that was frowned on for men back in the day, but it's become an important thing for men to feel comfortable to express themselves.

He revealed if he saw one of his teammates welling up it would make him rally around them even more.

"I'm not a very emotional bloke, but I just can't hide my emotions. If you're going to cry don't be embarrassed about that," Horsburgh said.

"I cried in front of thousands of people. I don't find it embarrassing at all, I find it inspirational.

"If I see one of my boys crying it would probably make me want to go even harder.

"As long as you're true to yourself it doesn't really matter what other people think."

That passion is a trait he shares with Raiders coach Ricky Stuart.

They both wear their hearts on their sleeve and it's been a key to Stuart turning the Green Machine into an NRL premiership contender.

That bond has seen Stuart reach out to Horsburgh's family since the injury, speaking to his dad Rick several times.

Horsburgh felt it was all part of what makes Canberra such a special place.

"I think Ricky's similar to me - he wears his heart on his sleeve and sometimes doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut like myself," he said.

"But I think that's what makes us a special team. We're going to have a special year this year I reckon.

"I reckon it makes us special - we've got a lot of people that care in our squad, that want to win. I like it."

Horsburgh's facing at least 12 weeks on the sidelines, with Raiders coach Ricky Stuart admitting he's unlikely to play again this season with the semi-finals an outside chance.

Not that Horsburgh's listening. The fiery redhead's determined to come back sooner.

It's something that's driving him in the days since his surgery - the first major injury of his career.

"That's a massive goal. I want to come back and play hopefully at the back end of the year, but if not hopefully in the finals if I can get back and get selected," Horsburgh said.

"It's not a long shot, but it's going to be tough. But I honestly reckon I'll get there and if I don't think like that I'll probably be a bit down.

"That's a massive goal of mine to knock over this rehab and get back playing footy as quick as I can."

The Queenslander's thankful he's living with his sister. Given he's got to spend the next six weeks keeping his weight off his foot.

Then the rehabilitation starts.

It's a foot that's now strengthened by titanium after he did a proper job of injuring it.

He admitted to being down in the first few days after hurting it, but has bounced back since.

Watching his teammates beat St George Illawarra certainly helped lift his mood.

"It sucks, but that's footy. You've just got to take the good with the bad. I'm not too down anymore, I've just got to accept it now," Horsburgh said.

"I did all the Lisfranc ligaments, that's like the ligaments that connect the foot to the leg, and then I separated my bones so they had to go in there and pull them all back into place.

"They put these titanium ropes in there that will act like ligaments and hold the bones where they're meant to be.

"It's a weird one, but hopefully it does the trick.

"I'm not allowed to walk on this for six weeks or do anything, but I want to try and get into the gym as soon as I can and just start trying to get better for when I come back."

NRL ROUND NINE

Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Melbourne Storm at Canberra Stadium, 7.35pm.