Penrith Panthers prop Sam McKendry played on even after fracturing his neck Penrith Panthers prop Sam McKendry faces an uncertain NRL future after fracturing his neck. PENRITH prop Sam McKendry has cemented his reputation among league's toughest men - playing 25 minutes with a broken neck. Less than 18 months after representing New Zealand with a broken jaw, McKendry suffered silently through two stints against the Eels with a C6 vertebra fracture. It's understood the 23-year-old suffered the injury early in the first half of Monday night's match when he attempted a tackle on Parramatta centre Jacob Loko at Centrebet Stadium. Yet not only did the 110kg enforcer play on for about 10 minutes, he then returned to the field in the second half without complaint, according to several Panthers insiders. "Sammy never said a thing," said one. It wasn't until after the game, when he cooled down and the adrenalin wore off, that the pain really set in. Despite not being booked in to see a specialist until tomorrow, initial reports were already suggesting the injury was serious enough to place McKendry's playing future in doubt. However it's understood that, while the club issued a statement yesterday refusing to speculate on the extent of the injury, the prop was last night told he could be back within eight to 10 weeks. Incredibly, McKendry also made similar headlines in 2011 when he played several minutes of a Test match against Wales with his jaw smashed so badly in five places, his bottom teeth were out of alignment by a centimetre. Initially, the hulking Kiwi thought Welsh enforcer Craig Kopzcak had only rattled a couple of his teeth loose - playing on with an injury that would eventually require both plastic and dental surgery, including the insertion of a metal plate. "I just saw him (Kopzcak) fly out of the line and put a shot on me," he said afterwards. At first I thought I'd lost some teeth and I just kept playing on for a bit. Then I realised then something wasn't quite right ... I could feel part of my jaw moving around. And so McKendry now adds his name to the most esteemed of rugby league clubs. One chaired by Rabbitohs legend John Sattler, who set the standard for playing hurt when he led South Sydney to the 1970 premiership while playing with a broken jaw. St George hero Billy Wilson played a 1954 final against North Sydney with a broken arm and also earned the nickname Captain Blood after battling through another match with a head wound boasting 17 stitches. Among current NRL players, few boast a better yarn than that of Cronulla's Ben Ross. Told he may never walk again after breaking his neck, Ross rehabilitated for two years before eventually returning to the game.