Titans lose Keano Kini for three months due to spinal injury

Gold Coast Titans fullback Keano Kini has revealed that he was within millimetres of being paralysed after suffering a neck injury in Round 3 of the 2025 NRL season.

Kini played the duration of the Titans’ win over the Newcastle Knights on March 22 but complained of discomfort in his neck afterwards.

The 20-year-old was sent for scans, which showed that his spinal cord had been compressed by 10mm, with doctors saying that another 4mm would likely have led to paralysis.

“I’m pretty lucky, it could have been a lot worse,” Kini said after news of his near-miss broke.

“The doc said if I copped another bad hit I could have been paralysed.

“When he said that to me, I was pretty scared.

“I feel blessed to have found this out now before something really serious happened.

“I have a herniation of my disc in between my vertebrae, it was pushing into my spinal cord, so they are going to take that out and fuse the bones together.”

Jaylen de Groot stepped into fullback for Gold Coast in Keano’s absence in Round 4 and will likely fill the role for some time to come.

As it stands, the Kiwi-born player will be sidelined for at least the next three months as he undergoes surgery this week to repair the damage.

“They originally said I’ll be back around the Origin period but I really doubt that,” Kini said.

“Anything can happen with your neck, so I’m not going to rush anything.

“I’m focused on my health first rather than coming back to footy this year.

“Obviously, I’d love to be back this year, but if not, I will take my time to get back to my full potential.”

Despite winning two of their first three games this season, the Titans remain long shots at $41 with BetOnline to win their first premiership in 2025.

They are favourites to win their next match, however, paying $1.48 at leading NRL bookmakers to take out the Dolphins when they meet on Saturday evening in Robina.

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