The Cronulla Sharks are hopeful centre KL Iro will only miss a week of action after a knee laceration ruled him out of the club's clash with the Manly Sea Eagles.
Iro was a late withdrawal from the Sharks' side when the club cut their side to 20 on Thursday evening, 24 hours out from kick-off in their Round 13 clash with the Manly Sea Eagles.
It has since been revealed Iro has a 'knee laceration', but it is not serious, with no other injury, and the club expect him to only miss a single week.
That should see the star centre, who is one of Cronulla's most dangerous attacking weapons, be fit to go for next weekend's local derby against the St George Illawarra Dragons on Sunday afternoon at home.
Iro, who has scored nine tries in ten games this year, including back-to-back hat-tricks in Round 8 and 9 against the Cowboys and Tigers, will be replaced for the clash against Manly by Mawene Hiroti, who has already seen plenty of game time this year owing to other injuries in the back five.
Hiroti is in his final season with the Sharks before linking up with former Cronulla assistant coach Josh Hannay at the Gold Coast Titans next year.
In better news for the black, white and blue, Blayke Brailey and Addin Fonua-Blake are expected to back up from Origin, while Briton Nikora will be rested.
Billy Burns will start in the second row for Nikora, while Jayden Berrell has been added to the bench, and Riley Jones remains the 20th man for Craig Fitzgibbon's side.
Brailey played the final 30 minutes of the game against the Queensland side on Wednesday night, playing a pivotal role for his state as they launched a stunning come-from-behind win, while Addin Fonua-Blake had stints at the start and end of the game, and Nikora featured heavily for the Maroons on debut in the second half.
The Sharks also expect Nicho Hynes to be fit to return next week, with the star halfback to miss this weekend's game with a calf injury. He has been replaced by Niwhai Puru, who has had to bide his time with the Newtown Jets in the NSW Cup since making the switch from the Penrith Panthers junior system several years ago.
