North Queensland Cowboys captain Michael Morgan is reportedly considering retirement due to ongoing shoulder issues.
The 29-year-old was hoping to make a return for the Cowboys in the coming weeks, but the Courier Mail’s Peter Badel said that he’s hearing the halfback is leaning towards retirement.
“My mail is that Michael Morgan won’t play again,” Badel said on SEN 1170 Mornings.
“I would love to be proven wrong on this one, Morgan has been a fantastic player for the club, he’s a champion bloke.
“We’ll never forget that pass he threw to save North Queensland in the Grand Final against the Broncos in 2015.
“He’s a premiership hero, he’s done it all in rugby league.
“It’s now a matter of, if he’s to play on, the pain would be so bad that he’d have to deal with it for the rest of his career.”
Badel revealed that the Cowboys have approached the NRL about an injury-related payout.
“At age 29 he’s weighing it up, I’m told the Cowboys have asked about a payout from the NRL,” he added.
“He’ll know more in the next week, he’s talking to doctors at the moment but I don’t think he’ll play again.
“It’ll be a sad way for him to end, but if he was to play he’d be battling pain every week.”
The playmaker has appeared 169 times for the Cowboys, while also representing Queensland and Australia on 24 combined occasions.