QUEENSLAND have been struck a devastating blow with Billy Slater ruled out of Wednesday night’s Origin series opener after reinjuring his hamstring.

Slater and Maroons coach Kevin Walters confirmed the news on Monday afternoon, moments after news broke on The Daily Telegraph.

“We knew we had some concerns with Billy, but he’s a champion player and we needed to give him every chance to play,” Walters said.

The coach confirmed Anthony Milford and Kalyn Ponga would join camp as possible replacements for Slater.

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Ponga is reportedly being considered in a time-share with Michael Morgan a possibility to be elevated from the bench to start at fullback.

“I didn’t pull up as well as I would have liked after our training run on Sunday, and because I’m not 100 per cent, it’s in my best interests as well as the team’s to withdraw from Wednesday’s game,” Slater said.

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Queensland also has the option to move Michael Morgan, Cameron Munster or Valentine Holmes to the back, while Darius Boyd and 18th man Moses Mbye also loom as options.

“We’ve had plans in place to cover Billy if he didn’t come up right, and we’ve actioned that today with Anthony and Kalyn coming in,” Walters said.

Slater was picked by the Maroons with an injury cloud over his head and despite positive updates out of camp it appears he has lost his race against the clock after pushing himself through training.

Munster looms as the smoky, with the Storm utility a fullback before he was switched to five-eighth. If Munster was moved Morgan would likely wear the No.7 and a new utility would be brought onto the bench.