Luckless Sydney Roosters forward Anthony Cherrington underwent surgery on his injured left knee on Tuesday, with teammates hopeful he will return before the end of the NRL season.

Cherrington, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in Saturday's trial match against the Bulldogs, now faces an eight month rehabilitation program to reach full fitness again.

It's a process he is all too familiar with, having torn his right ACL in similar fashion at the beginning of 2010.

And despite him missing all of last season due to the injury, Cherrington's second-row ally Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was optimistic about the 23-year-old returning in 2011.

"He's a bit shattered at the moment, and we're all shattered for him, but he gets his operation done today," the New Zealand international said.

"Hopefully it's a success and he keeps his head held high, and hopefully he can be back out on the field before the end of the season.

"It's a big blow for him but at the end of the day that's footy and it can be a cruel game to you."

Waerea-Hargreaves was particularly crestfallen at seeing the talented backrower go down with another injury, having missed the start of last season himself with a shoulder problem picked up in pre-season.

The ex-Manly Sea Eagle didn't make his debut in Roosters colours until round six, before going on to become an integral part in the forward pack which helped the Roosters to a grand final appearance.

This pre-season has been smooth sailing, with the 22-year-old confident a full off-season will elevate his game to new levels.

"I had seven weeks off, but I've been back for a month now and we're right in the middle of things ... it's good because this time last year I had my arm up in a sling which was a pain in the backside," he added.

Waerea-Hargreaves played 40 minutes in the Roosters' trial loss to the Bulldogs, producing several trademark big hits as he blew out the cobwebs of a summer spentin Hawaii.

"It was good to get the first trial out of the way, and it's awesome to be fit and healthy and ready to go for round one," he said.

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