Leon Pryce's World Cup dreams appeared to lay in tatters today after he dislocated his shoulder in England's 76-4 rout of Russia last night.
The triumph was marred when the Bradford Bulls favourite, who had just scored a try, fell awkwardly on the greasy surface while trying to keep the ball in play at St Helens' Knowsley Road ground.
Pryce will have X-rays today to determine the full extent of the injury, but he looks likely to join Simon Haughton, Francis Cummins and Odsal team-mate Nathan McAvoy among the departures from Kear's initial 24-strong squad.
"We're not ruling him out, but he's looking very doubtful," said Kear, who was about to bring the 19-year-old off for a breather when the freak injury occurred.
"It's a massive blow for us. I thought Leon handled the occasion against Australia at Twickenham superbly and is destined for a big future.
"It is not the first time he has had trouble with this shoulder. We need to get to the bottom of it."
Pryce's hopes of appearing in the Challenge Cup final were thrown into doubt when he suffered a similar dislocation playing for the Bulls at Huddersfield in April. But the shoulder popped straight back and he recovered in time.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article