Maitland Pickers back-rower Tylar Carter will be sidelined for at least three months after undergoing eye surgery to reattach the retina in his right eye.
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Carter underwent surgery at the Sydney Eye Hospital on Wednesday afternoon after being accidentally poked in the eye at training on Tuesday night.
It was the latest incident in what Pickers president Frank Lawler described as a horror week for the club with star forward signing Tyrone Amey asking for a clearance to Brisbane East in the Queensland Sate League and a transfer request from young front-rower Lincoln Smith to play with Cessnock.
Pickers president Frank Lawler said the one real positive to come out of it was that Carter's surgery had been successful and that the prognosis was far better than initially thought.
"I spoke to Tylar and he said the doctor was very happy with the surgery and that he could be back at training within 10 to 12 weeks. It was initially thought it would be at least 12 months," Lawler said.
Amey was one of three key signings for the Pickers going into 2019, along with prop Sam Anderson and former Raiders and Warriors centre Matt Allwood.
Lawler said all three had been training the house down and fitted in extremely well.
"I knew Tyrone was heading up for a trial with Brisbane East and he rang me on Monday morning to say it had gone well and he wanted to give it a shot.
"We're not going to stand in his way. You can't stand in their way when they've got a chance to play at a higher level.
"Lincoln has gone out to Cessnock. He thought it would be easier to make first grade out there which is a bit disappointing.
"Smithy obviously wasn't happy and wanted to try somewhere else. It's disappointing, we would have preferred him to stay and fight for his position.
"We do have players there who can fill those roles, but it's a fair bit of depth we've lost in those three guys.
"Obviously guys like Pete Cronin come into serious consideration. We've still got guys like Brenton Horwood and Scotty Williams and (2011 Maitland premiership player) Marco Delapeno is back in town and wanting to play which is great news for the club."