The Dolphins have confirmed the extent of the injury to Herbie Farnworth, with the star centre to miss at least four weeks of NRL action.
Farnworth, playing for the Dolphins in Auckland against the New Zealand Warriors on Friday evening, pulled up gingerly after making a line break with an obvious hamstring problem.
Taken from the field immediately and playing no further part in the game, Farnworth's scans have now confirmed he will miss at least four weeks, but potentially as many as six.
"It is always difficult to pinpoint timings on hamstring injuries because it does depend a lot on how that injury responds to treatment," the club's head of performance, Jeremy Hickmans, said in an official injury update provided on Monday.
"But we are hopeful he could be a minimum of four weeks if all goes well, longer if not."
With just five weeks of the regular season remaining, it means the Dolphins will need to attempt to qualify for the finals without their star centre for most, if not all, of the rest of the campaign.
If the Redcliffe-based outfit qualifies for the top eight, Farnworth could find himself fit to play as the knockout rounds commence.
The Dolphins will likely need to win at least three of their remaining games to make the top eight, with clashes to come against the Sydney Roosters (home), Brisbane Broncos (away), Manly Sea Eagles (away), Gold Coast Titans (home) and Canberra Raiders (home) on what is a tricky run home.
Other injuries in their backline, particularly to winger Jack Bostock, mean Max Feagai is already playing, and youngster Tevita Naufahu, who has had two appearances in recent weeks, will likely line up as part of the Dolphins' back five through till the end of the season.
