A likely season-ending ankle injury to boom forward Boyd Cordner has overshadowed the Sydney Roosters' surge to outright top of the NRL ladder for the first time in almost a decade.
Cordner will be sidelined for six to 10 weeks after undergoing left ankle surgery on Sunday after limping off in the Roosters' decisive 28-22 win over Canberra at Allianz Stadium 24 hours earlier.
The Roosters have one hand on their first minor premiership since 2004, the same season the tricolours last enjoyed sole possession of top spot, but Cordner's injury is a crushing blow to their title hopes.
Despite the Roosters earlier on Sunday clearing Cordner of a broken ankle, the NSW State of Origin back-rower needed surgery for syndesmosis, according to club legend Brad Fittler.
"He's got the syndesmosis disease, which every player seems to get these days, a high ankle sprain and something to do with ligaments tearing apart," Fittler said on the Nine Network's Footy Show.
"(It is) eight weeks, so I think it's grand final at best."
The grand final will be contested in bang on eight weeks, leaving Cordner in a race against the clock.
"He'll be a great healer. He's so dedicated to what he's got to do," Fittler said.
In the immediate aftermath to suffering the injury, Roosters coach Trent Robinson said he was desperately hoping the 21-year-old wouldn't be ruled out for the rest of the season.
"He's such a key player for us, Boyd. And for such a young player, he's such an important part of our team," Robinson said.
So important that Cordner, who co-captained the side with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves against the Raiders in the absence of injured fullback Anthony Minichiello, was the youngest Roosters skipper since 1944.
Even with Sonny Bill Williams to return from a two-match suspension and Luke O'Donnell from illness for Monday week's match against lowly Wests Tigers, Cordner's absence is a major setback for the title favourites.
His left-side combination with halves and Blues teammates Mitchell Pearce and James Maloney has been lethal for the Roosters, with Cordner crossing for nine tries in 18 games to be among the league's most damaging forwards in 2013.
The Roosters' seventh straight win vaulted them two points clear of South Sydney with four rounds of the minor premiership remaining.
With a softer run to the finals over the coming month and vastly superior points differential to the second-placed Rabbitohs, the Roosters could conceivably even lose to their inner-city rivals in round 26 at ANZ Stadium and still secure the JJ Giltinan Shield.
