Gunnedah export Hayden Loughrey has a nervous wait before finding out if the Knights will offer him a new contract, after his 2019 season was derailed by injury.
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The 20-year-old halfback ruptured the ACL in his right knee about 30 minutes into a Canturbury Cup clash against North Sydney at North Sydney Oval on May 7.
He described the injury as "devastating" and "very frustrating".
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It was only his third match of the season following his return from a second shoulder reconstruction. He had played two games of "local league" prior to the match.
"So I didn't really get [the chance] to show off anything this year," he said.
Loughrey, the Knights' under-20 captain in 2018, missed the back end of that season because of the injured shoulder. But he had done enough at the club in his two seasons there to warrant a new one-year deal.
I'm not too sure what's happening next year.
- Hayden Loughrey
If he does get a new contract at the Knights or at another NRL club, he would not be fit to play again until the pre-season games next year.
"I'm not too sure what's happening next year," he said, in reference to his future at Newcastle.
However, he is "optimistic they'll keep me".
He said that his recovery was progressing nicely, with him running again.
Loughrey said the injury occurred when he got hit late in a tackle. He was off balance at the time. "Just unlucky," he said.
