Brisbane halfback Tom Dearden is facing several weeks on the sidelines following confirmation he will need surgery on his injured ankle.
The 18-year-old limped off in the opening minutes of Sunday's 26-18 loss to NRL rivals Gold Coast at Suncorp Stadium, and scans have confirmed a syndesmosis injury.
Dearden will have surgery on Tuesday, and Broncos head of performance Paul Devlin said a cautious approach will be taken with the youngster's recovery.
"It is a fairly sensible rehab time of five weeks plus, but he is an 18-year-old player so we will take maximum caution with that," Devlin said.
"Daly Cherry-Evans got it down to five and-a-half weeks, which is pretty impressive.
"But he is a young player so we won't be putting any pressure on him in that regard and we will do what is best for him."
Dearden's absence means Anthony Seibold is light on halfback options following Kodi Nikorima's departure for the Warriors earlier this season.
Former Sydney Rooster Sean O'Sullivan has been plying his trade in the Queensland Cup for Norths Devils but is yet to play for the Broncos.
Impressive youngster Jake Turpin filled in for Dearden at halfback on Sunday with returning hooker Andrew McCullough coming off the bench, and Seibold indicated he may consider sticking with that line-up for Saturday's clash with Parramatta in Sydney.
The Broncos will head south without veteran backrower Alex Glenn, who suffered a medial collateral ligament injury during his 250th NRL appearance.
The club has also received good news on representative prop Joe Ofahengaue's knee.
The 23-year-old suffered a bad cut to his knee during his State of Origin debut for Queensland last week, which required surgery.
Ofahengaue visited his surgeon on Monday and, with the wound showing no signs of infection, it's hoped he'll be fit to return for the Broncos following the bye against Newcastle on June 29.
