South Sydney Rabbitohs centre Campbell Graham's return this season appears unlikely, according to interim head coach Ben Hornby.
After securing their fourth consecutive victory by defeating the Sea Eagles 14-0 at Accor Stadium, Hornby delivered the news to Souths fans.
"He hasn't been training with us at all, he hasn't touched a ball," Hornby said.
"He's still a long way off, Campbell, if at all."
Graham has not played a game in 2024 following sternum surgery for an injury sustained last year. Also, winger Tyrone Munro, who fractured his collarbone in round six against the Sharks, faces an uncertain return.
"He's the same. At the moment there's no return date for either of those guys," Hornby added.
"They could be back in four, five weeks, but the likelihood is that they're probably not coming back, either of them [this year]."
The Sea Eagles, with 13 players out due to injury or Origin duty and an inexperienced bench, fought valiantly but missed the leadership of skipper Daly Cherry Evans. Coach Anthony Seibold expressed hope for a stronger squad post-bye, with potential returns from Tom Trbojevic, Reuben Garrick, Josh Aloiai and possibly Lachlan Croker.
"There's quite a few guys [to come back], and in key positions as well, but I don't want to take away [from the team that played on Saturday]," Seibold said.
"We came here to get a result, and unfortunately we weren't quite good enough tonight. But I was really proud of the group and I thought we fought really hard, but we just didn't quite have that cohesion."
When asked about Trbojevic's position upon his return, Seibold humorously responded, "I've had some private conversations [with Trbojevic], but I'm not willing to sort of share those private conversations."
