Pearce injured his ankle in the win over Junee last month and has been delivered a horror diagnosis.

"The specialist said I probably won't play this year and the physio said the same thing," Pearce said.

"They said maybe finals if I'm lucky."

Pearce has torn two ligaments in his ankle and also has cartilage damage.

He doesn't need surgery but just has to wait to see how it heals to be a chance to play finals.

It will be a big loss for the Blues, who have only lost the once so far, but don't have a lot of depth to call upon.

However in some better news Pearce's younger brother Jed will return from a knee injury to tackle Albury on Sunday.

He'll add plenty of size to the pack taking on a Thunder outfit looking to rebound from their first loss of the season.

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