{"id":802487,"date":"2026-07-15T20:11:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T20:11:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/802487\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T20:11:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T20:11:21","slug":"nrl-2026-sydney-roosters-angus-crichtons-season-threatening-foot-fracture-before-rugby-union-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/802487\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL 2026: Sydney Roosters Angus Crichton\u2019s season-threatening foot fracture before rugby union move"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Angus Crichton has a new baby, a new barbershop and a new lease on life after fearing he had ended his time in the NRL with the Roosters by playing for several weeks with a stress fracture in his foot.<\/p>\n

Crichton is rugby union-bound at the end of 2026 after signing a two-year Rugby Australia deal<\/a> with an eye to next year\u2019s home World Cup.<\/p>\n

\"InjuredInjured Roosters star Angus Crichton in Darlinghurst, where he will soon open his second barber shop, complete with a tattoo parlour downstairs.Wolter Peeters<\/p>\n

But a finals swansong with the Tricolours remains in play, following cross-code advice from AFL stars Jesse Hogan and Will Day<\/a> and what turned out to be season-saving orthopaedic surgery after initial scans missed the small crack in his right foot.<\/p>\n

The NSW Origin<\/a> and Kangaroos regular is now on crutches and healing well after playing games earlier this year with a navicular stress fracture \u2013 an injury that can often reoccur, and be notoriously difficult to heal, due to poor blood flow.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so nervous when I was reading and hearing about how serious the injury is,\u201d Crichton said. \u201cI\u2019d be devastated if I don\u2019t get to play another game for the Roosters.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Andrew Wines, the surgeon who did the operation on me, is quite confident I\u2019ll be back at the end of the year, and I\u2019m all in on my rehab. I\u2019m praying I\u2019ll be there at the end of the season.<\/p>\n

\"AngusAngus Crichton is targeting a finals swansong for the Roosters.Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cA good mate of mine, Jesse Hogan at the GWS Giants, had the same injury at the start of his career and he rested it, didn\u2019t get the surgery and it became a long process for him. It happens a bit in AFL and [Hawthorn midfielder] Will Day has had his issues with it, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spoke to him and Jesse, and they both had four months out of the game and then recurring issues, too. But the idea is by getting the surgery straight away, I can sort it once and for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meantime, Crichton is working out how to literally juggle his three-month-old son Sullivan while holding himself up on crutches and making himself useful to wife Chloe.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s found his burgeoning business ventures easier going so far, with his second AC Flo barbershop<\/a> to combine with Bobby\u2019s Tattoos parlour as a one-stop, ink-and-trims shop.<\/p>\n

\"Crichton\u2019sCrichton\u2019s second barbershop \u2013 AC Flo x Bobby\u2019s Tattoo \u2013 will open on Oxford Street.Wolter Peeters<\/p>\n

With Crichton on deck more than usual since being sidelined, the Oxford Street venue in Darlinghurst is poised to open its doors imminently.<\/p>\n

The 10-week recovery plotted out by Wines and Roosters medical staff will ideally have Crichton available again for the NRL finals in mid-September, and the Roosters are up to their eyeballs in this year\u2019s premiership race.<\/p>\n

That timeframe would also have Crichton in line for the Wallabies\u2019 spring tour in November. When he signed with RA in January, the tour was flagged by chief executive Phil Waugh as an option for Crichton to taste once more the code he last played at Australian schoolboys level more than a decade ago.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Zac<\/a><\/p>\n

But just as he has all year, Crichton is reluctant to offer much on his looming code switch out of respect to the Roosters, coach Trent Robinson and club boss Nick Politis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ve got the team to do something special this year, and there\u2019s a few of us who are in our last season at the club,\u201d Crichton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be a new-look Roosters team next year, but this year we\u2019ve got strike all over the park and I think we\u2019re getting better and better every week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m spewing I\u2019m not playing right now, but the best thing I can do is dive into my rehab and ideally go all the way with the Chooks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be in full health when I go across [to rugby], but I\u2019m still contracted here, doing all my rehab with the Roosters and made a bit of a conscious decision to keep the discussions about my recovery just with the Roosters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m 30 now, I\u2019ve got plenty of footy left in me and the plan is to come back flying for the Chooks, so I don\u2019t miss a beat\u201d.<\/p>\n

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\"DanDan Walsh<\/a> is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners