The Sydney Roosters have confirmed veteran winger Daniel Tupou has suffered an anterior shoulder dislocation during the side's trip to the Hunter on Saturday.
Tupou left the field in the 49th minute following the dislocation and was replaced by Hugo Savala, pushing Billy Smith out onto the left wing.
He has avoided operation after meeting with specialists and has been given a return date of five weeks.
The Roosters came away with a hard-fought two points following a 23-22 thriller against the Newcastle Knights, with field goal specialist Daly Cherry-Evans putting the tri-colours in front with a few minutes to go.
Injury carnage spread across both teams during the match, with Dylan Lucas suffering a gruesome ankle dislocation and fracture in the first half, and was quickly medi-cabbed off the field with his left ankle hidden.
While in the second half, star recruit Dylan Brown suffered an ACL rupture after stepping off his left foot with the knee buckling without contact.
It cripples Newcastle's chances of legitimate title contention, but they still remain in the Top 8, parked in seventh on the ladder.
The Roosters advance to second place and are making a strong case for a premiership title assault, with only one win separating them from ladder-leading Penrith Panthers.
With six games left in the regular season, they are in the box-seat to go deep into the finals race with class all across the track, with Tupou to return on the doorstep of September.
It is expected Savala will return to the left centre position and Smith will move out to the wing in the meantime.
But the glamour club has options in its squad depth.
They can recall Tommy Talau for a like-for-like replacement on the left wing, while Cody Ramsey and Rex Bassingthwaighte have also done a fine job when elevated to the NRL side.
The Roosters have a mixed bag of competition in their remaining games, which include matches against the Cowboys, Bulldogs, Panthers, Tigers, Dolphins and Rabbitohs.
If they can continue their elite form as of late, which includes five wins in a row, they have a chance of leapfrogging Penrith for the Minor Premiership.
Following their latest trip up the motorway to the Hunter, the Roosters turn their focus towards facing North Queensland in Townsville on Thursday.
