Promising St George Illawarra youngster Matt Dufty's hopes of a round-one NRL debut have been dashed by a knee injury.
Dufty, who has dominated in the under-20s at fullback for the past three seasons and steps into senior foottball this season, has been ruled out for up to six weeks by an injury suffered at the Auckland Nines.
The 20-year-old was one of the Dragons' best players at the nines before he hyper-extended his knee on Saturday afternoon against Manly.
"After scans yesterday, it has revealed a medial meniscus tear," Dragons performance manager Nathan Pickworth said.
"He'll have an arthroscope today and that will be removed. The return-to-play time frame is around 4-6 weeks."
It comes after fellow star of the Dragons' rising junior ranks, Drew Hutchison, was also ruled out for this season with a knee injury.
Dufty will most likely act as back-up to Josh Dugan at No.1 this year, however could have been a chance of sneaking into another position in the backline in the Dragons' March 4 season opener against Penrith.
Coach Paul McGregor had also reportedly been considering using him at the back this year if Josh Dugan plays again in the centres, however a repeat of that positional move is considered unlikely.
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