A calf injury has forced the withdrawal of Paul Gallen from the World All Stars team.
Gallen was desperate to be a part of the annual All Stars clash however the injury has failed to respond to treatment in time for the Sharks skipper to make the trip north to Brisbane.
"I'm really disappointed that I won't be playing," Gallen said. "I wanted to give myself every chance, which is why I made the decision today, but I haven't been able to train over the past two weeks after aggravating a calf injury.
"To go into the first game of the year, and such an intense and important game, with a couple of ball work sessions under my belt would have been too risky."
The Gallen injury is not considered serious however while he is likely to miss the Sharks trial with Manly this Sunday he is expected to be fit to play in his teams final pre-season hit out against the Wests Tigers the following Saturday.
The NRL named Beau Scott of the Eels as a replacement for Gallen in a World All Stars team that includes Sharks teammate Michael Ennis.
Sharks Andrew and David Fifita, Ben Barba and Wade Graham will line up for the Indigenous Team.
The All Stars match will be played at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
The World All Stars squad is now as follows:
|
