Johnson pinged his hamstring while accelerating on a defensive chase in the opening half and appeared in a lot of pain as two trainers escorted him from the field.
Commentators said that Johnson appeared to be in pain during Cronulla's warm-up with a hip flexor as well so their shiny new toy might be in need of some long-term rehab.
Cronulla coach John Morris was far from optimistic on the chances of getting Johnson back anytime soon.
"He left the field in a bit of discomfort but he hasn't had hamstring issues in the past," Morris said.
"We just have to get him back, get him scanned and hold our breath again.
"When he walks off in that amount of pain, you wouldn't think it's going to be a minor complaint."
Johnson is therefore potentially in doubt for the Kiwis' test against Tonga in June, with his injury only adding to the Sharks' harrowing and growing injury list.
Already missing the likes of Aaron Woods, Wade Graham and Matt Moylan, the Sharks added Josh Dugan and Johnson to the list in their loss to the Broncos.
Adding to their woes, the Sharks were outplayed from go to woe and some of their youngsters really struggled.
Most notable were fullback William Kennedy and winger Ronaldo Mulitalo — who had a horror night on debut as the Broncos victimised him with high kicks and plenty of traffic sent his way.
The match was in reality over in the 27th minute when Joe Ofahengaue crashed over next to the posts to give Brisbane a 20-0 lead on the back of early tries to Corey Oates and Alex Glenn.
Anthony Milford, who starred, in a return to form, even kicked a field goal and James Roberts scored the sealer in the 54th minute.
Cronulla got one back late through young hooker Jayden Brailey but it was worth very little.
- with News.com.au
