Gold Coast's Michael Gordon is set for a stint on the sidelines due to a blood clot in his leg, as reported by The Daily Telegraph.
Gordon has been ordered by a haematologist to stop any heavy-contact exercises and training and has been placed on medication following the shock diagnosis.
The 35-year-old revealed the clot wasn't life threatening but doctors will look to take every precaution as Gordon's family has a concerning history with the condition.
“At first, I thought, ‘Holy s***, what do I do?’,” Gordon told The Daily Telegraph on Thursday.
“The doctor couldn’t stress enough the importance of no-contact right now.
“I asked if I could do ballwork and she said, ‘No, if you get a bad knock to the head, you could potentially die, so you don’t muck around with it’.
“Even any big blows to my arms or legs have the potential for internal bleeding.
“My brother Chris and my aunty have had blood clots, they both had to get surgery to treat it.
“That was my first fear, that I would have to get surgery, but it doesn’t look like I will need an operation.
“I’ve seen doctors and blood experts and they say the clot is pretty superficial, so it’s not life-threatening, but they were worried about it spreading.
“The big thing is if it becomes deep vein and the risk of it travelling to my lungs or heart. They don’t want it to get to that stage.”
Gordon, who will miss Sunday's clash against the Broncos, hasn't played for the Titans since the sides 26-18 loss to Cronulla in round nine.
Gordon found concern with the injury when he felt a sudden pain in his calf-region.
“It’s hard to know how it all happened,” he said.
“Before the Sharks game, I thought I had a little knock in my calf and I thought maybe it was a cork.
“I didn’t think too much of it, but within a few weeks it felt like something was spreading up my leg.
“It’s really hard to explain. It felt weird. It wasn’t painful as such. It was more a burning sensation and when I explained my symptoms, we had some tests done and it showed the clot.
“As far as I know there is just the one clot and it’s in my calf and goes up to my inner-thigh as well.
“The doctors are confident I will be OK, but it’s not something to muck around with.”
Gordon has high hopes that he will return to the field in a month.
“Initially, it’s a six-week course of medication. I’ve got just over two weeks left of that and then I will have more blood tests,” he said.
“If the clot dissolves, I will be right to play, so that’s why I’m trying to keep my fitness up.”
Gee the Titans are having a rough trot with injuries and other issues. Heads up Titans fans, as a Souths member I feel your pain.