Injured Josh Dugan to miss Panthers clash

Cronulla centre Josh Dugan will miss Friday's NRL semi-final with Penrith because of a shoulder injury.

Josh Dugan

A shoulder injury is set to rule Josh Dugan out of Friday's sudden-death clash with Penrith. (AAP)

Josh Dugan will miss Cronulla's NRL semi-final with Penrith just days after baring his soul to the world.

The Sharks' strike centre was on Thursday night withdrawn from the side to take to Allianz Stadium on Friday due to a shoulder injury.

Jesse Ramien replaces Dugan in the Cronulla backline.

Just hours earlier coach Shane Flanagan said the club had no concerns about Dugan's headspace following his emotional outburst to a packed media scrum on Tuesday.

The former NSW and Australian centre fought back tears as he detailed how he had worked to repair his battered reputation but felt he'd been permanently tarred after being sacked by Canberra in 2013.

"The whole club has (rallied around him)," Flanagan said.

"With all our players we've got to make sure they're okay. They're big and strong but sometimes we need to look a little bit deeper.

"It's come out and we can address it now at another level. We have been addressing it but we can address it at another level."

Flanagan said Dugan's comments highlighted the importance of mental health and encouraging young men to talk about their struggles.

The loss of Dugan is a huge blow for the Sharks with Flanagan declaring his experience vital to their chances.

His loss is offset by the availability of centre Ramien, who returns from an ankle injury.

Asked if there was any risk in playing the 21-year-old in a finals game after missing the last three weeks, Flanagan said: "Not at all.

"He's a quality player, he's been in our team all year and he'll probably just miss out on getting rookie of the year."


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Source: AAP


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