Canterbury has been dealt a serious blow for the start of the NRL season with marquee recruit Leo Thompson to miss 10 weeks with a calf injury.
Thompson, who arrived from Newcastle on a big-money deal over the summer, suffered the injury while in camp with the Maori All Stars side last week.
The front-rower was a late withdrawal from the side to play the Indigenous All Stars, with what was initially reported as "calf tightness".
But on his return to Australia, scans confirmed a grade three tear.
As a result, Thompson will miss Canterbury's trip to Las Vegas for their season opener against St George Illawarra next weekend, as well as much of the opening two months of the competition.
The 25-year-old is expected to avoid surgery.
Candidates to replace Thompson in the front row include Sam Hughes, Josh Curran, Harry Hayes and Daniel Saluka-Fifita.
Thompson is not the only star Bulldog under an injury cloud, with five-eighth Matt Burton continuing to battle a hamstring injury.
The club remains hopeful he will be on the plane to the United States, after scans confirmed he did not suffer a tear in their trial win over Newcastle.
If Burton is to miss the match in Nevada, former Panthers and Dolphins halfback Sean O'Sullivan is expected to partner Lachlan Galvin in the halves.
O'Sullivan is one of several new faces in the squad, including former Manly hooker Gordon Chan Kum Tong.
But Thompson, a five-Test veteran for New Zealand, is the Bulldogs' major off-season signing.
He has played 80 NRL matches since debuting in 2022 and had been tasked with shoring up the middle for the Bulldogs, as they attempt to break the club's 22-season premiership drought.
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