THE Broncos have been dealt a blow with news Tevita Pangai junior’s finger injury is much worse than first hoped.

Pangai broke his finger in last Friday’s 24-22 win over the Gold Coast Titans, an injury that generally takes three to four weeks to heal.

But straight after the match, Broncos’ medical staff were concerned about the structural damage inside the finger.

And after scans this morning, their fears have been realised.

Pangai will have an operation tomorrow to fix the unstable break in his finger, but more importantly to also repair tendon damage.

It is the tendon damage that is the real concern.

After that tendon repair, it could be anywhere from eight to 12 weeks before Pangai can take the field again.

The level of damage to the tendon, which cannot always be seen on scans, will determine what the actual time period for his recovery is.

Even if Pangai spends the minimum time of eight weeks on the sideline, he will be unavailable to play until mid June.