Mitch Moses has fractured his left foot in a devastating blow to Parramatta's hopes of bouncing back into finals contention this NRL season.
The Eels released a statement on Monday confirming Moses was expected to miss up to eight weeks with his injury, which will also hamper his campaign for State of Origin selection.
The 29-year-old was the NSW halfback for the final two games of last year's series in the absence of Nathan Cleary, whose sore hamstring has him facing an injury battle of his own this season.
After undergoing surgery, Moses will race the clock to be in consideration for a spot in the Origin set-up this year.
If he misses eight weeks, Moses will return with only one game to prove himself before teams are selected for the series opener, to be played in Sydney on June 5.
The injury will also have serious ramifications for the Eels, who needed to contend with instability in the halves last season as they crashed out of finals contention.
Ex-Warriors utility Daejarn Asi filled in at five-eighth when Dylan Brown missed seven games through suspension last season and is the likely candidate to join the halves again.
The Eels' other back-up playmaker, Jake Arthur, son of coach Brad, left the club midway through last season to join Manly.
Parramatta host Wests Tigers on Easter Monday for their first match without Moses, but star winger Maika Sivo is expected to return from suspension for his first game of the year.
