Wakefield Wildcats captain Jason Demetriou has been ruled out of the rest of the Super League campaign with a neck injury.
The 32-year-old is expected to be out for six months with a narrowing of the spinal cord.
Australian Demetriou is out of contract at the end of the season.
Wakefield physio Nicky Walker told BBC Radio Leeds: "If Jason continued playing there is a substantial risk he could be paralysed."
He added: "It's a serious scale of injury. He's seen two consultants as a result of severe pain in his neck and head.
"We've lost our talisman for the rest of the season"
"There is a compression on his spinal cord.
"So the only decision to make then is to correct it and the only procedure is surgery, unfortunately."
Wakefield coach John Kear said the operation does not mean the end of Demetriou's career: "It's a pretty tough operation to come back from.
"Other players have done it so it's not insurmountable but it's going to be tough.
"Having said that if there's anyone who's going to be able to climb a mountain like this it's Jason Demetriou.
"I'm certain he'll come back from this but just looking at it from a Wakefield point of view we've lost our talisman for the rest of the season."
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