Joel Monaghan fractures leg

Canberra Raiders leading try-scorer Joel Monaghan was dealt a cruel blow yesterday when scans to an injured leg revealed evidence of a small fracture to the base of his knee.

The 22-year-old flyer, who sits in second place on the NRL try-scoring list with twelve tries this season, injured the knee in a clash with Manly at Canberra Stadium three weeks ago.

"I felt some pain when it happened but it settled down quickly after that so I kept playing and didn?t worry too much about it," explained the explosive local junior.

Monaghan has played in both of the Raiders matches since that weekend, and only alerted Club doctors to the problem following last Saturday night?s victory over the Sharks at Canberra Stadium.

"It really pulled up sore after the Cronulla game and hasn?t been right ever since so I thought I better get it checked out," he said.

Scans taken yesterday revealed bruising on the bone surface at the knee joint, suggesting the likelihood of a small fracture.

Monaghan will undergo a further CT scan on the leg today, but is expected to be out of action for between two and six weeks.

"There was quite a bit of bruising around the joint and it is expected that Joel has suffered a small fracture in the area of the bone that forms the knee joint," explained Raiders doctor, Ian Murphy.

"There is the possibility that Joel may need an athroscope to follow up sometime towards the end of the week but we will know more after the CT scan comes back today," he said.