Kalyn Ponga is set to have surgery on his troublesome ankle ahead of the 2019 pre-season.
The nib Newcastle Knights fullback will have an operation on Thursday to fix the injury which kept him sidelined at the back-end of the year.
The operation is expected to keep him off his feet for a fortnight.
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Should he gain selection in the Australian squad for the October 27 Test against New Zealand in Auckland, he should be available to play.
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"I'm not banking on it to be honest," Ponga told The Newcastle Herald.
"I really want to concentrate on just getting my ankle right."
Ponga missed four of the last eight games of the season due to the injury.
He was unable to play in wins over Parramatta [Round 17] and Gold Coast [Round 18] or losses to the Cronulla and St George Illawarra in the remaining rounds.
