The Canberra Raiders may be set to lose one of the squad's most influential figures for their crucial qualifying final against the Brisbane Broncos this weekend.
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Josh Papali'i is in a race against the clock to be fit for Sunday afternoon's match at Canberra Stadium after a nasty ankle roll that left him in a moon boot.
The club confirmed the injury occurred on Friday during training and the ankle has remained swollen over the weekend, seriously limiting the veteran prop's ability to train in the lead-up to the Broncos' visit to the capital.
Scans on Friday revealed Papali'i avoided a fracture, but he remains in doubt to play the Raiders' first game in this year's NRL finals series.
The 33-year-old is still likely to feature in the Raiders' 22-man squad to be named on Tuesday, with Papali'i set to have an opportunity to prove his fitness at Saturday morning's captain's run before coach Ricky Stuart finalises his 17 to face Brisbane.
"Canberra Raiders prop Josh Papali'i is in doubt for Sunday afternoon's qualifying final against the Broncos, after sustaining an ankle injury at training last week," the club said in a statement.
"Papalii injured his ankle on Friday during training and will undergo treatment this week to determine his availability for Sunday."
Papali'i was rested for Canberra's game in Redcliffe last Sunday along with 10 other Raiders regulars, as the Dolphins cruised to a 62-24 victory in the regular season finale.
English forward Morgan Smithies was put on report for dangerous contact on the legs of Dolphin Josh Kerr in the game, but the Raiders caught a break with the match review committee issuing only an $1800 fine with an early guilty plea.
The Canberra Times revealed Papali'i had signed a deal with the Raiders a fortnight ago to remain with the Green Machine for a 16th NRL season, and the club was set to officially announce the extension in the coming week.
If Papali'i misses the finals encounter against the Broncos on Sunday at Bruce, the Raiders have plenty of forward depth to cover the Origin star.
Trey Mooney is one such candidate to get a first-grade call-up after totalling 104 run metres against the Dolphins, second only to Corey Horsburgh, with 32 tackles and a try assist in 55 minutes of action.
Mooney was impacted by Papali'i staying in Canberra to play on, with the promising young forward granted a release by the Raiders to seek other options as a result. Mooney has been linked to a move to Newcastle next season.
The upcoming finals series is tipped to be the biggest ever for the NRL with chief executive Andrew Abdo expecting sell-outs at the four finals scheduled for this weekend.
Abdo praised the openness of this year's premiership chase and the quality of football as a reason the NRL has averaged over 20,000 per game for the first time in history.
"It's been about the football," he said at the NRL finals launch.
"The fact the quality of football has been so good. Even though the eight was made up relatively early in the rounds, you've had teams that have renewed the connection with their fans through their performances in a competitive 17-team competition.
"It's a combination of scheduling and commitment and desire from fans to see live action."
The Raiders have already secured its first minor premiership since 1990 and will be out to end a 31-year premiership drought with a grand final victory.
"It is genuinely wide open," Abdo added. "You look at the four games coming up this weekend and you can't pick them. Even with home-ground advantage, I don't think that will be a factor. The teams are that close.
"We're delighted, there's been a great response from the fans and tickets are going to sell very quickly."
