The injury crisis at the Penrith Panthers has taken another hit, with exciting youngster Dallin Watene-Zelezniak ruled out for the remainder of the season.
The Panthers confirmed on their website on Friday night that Watene-Zelezniak will undergo season-ending surgery for a collapsed lung.
"Based on medical advice Dallin received today, he will undergo surgery to alleviate the complications of his recent collapsed lung," Panthers head of rugby league Justin Pascoe said on Friday.
"We expect Dallin to make a full recovery and look forward to seeing him in action again soon."
In an interesting turn of events, Watene-Zelezniak had addressed the media earlier in the week where he said he was "feeling better than ever".
Watene-Zelezniak said he copped a knock during the Panthers round 18 clash against the Roosters.
"I guess it just took off from there. I felt a bit of pain," he said.
"On the Tuesday I was at training and it got worse and worse, so I went to hospital to get an X-ray to see what actually happened."
When asked about what happens when you get a collapsed lung, Watene-Zelezniak said he got very short of breath, couldn't really breathe in all the way, and had to take slow breaths.
Although surprised by the amount of media attention he has received, Watene-Zelezniak said he was grateful for all the messages of support he had received.
