The New Zealand Warriors have confirmed Jackson Ford's latest injury will not finish his season if the Warriors can continue to stay alive in the NRL finals.
Ford returned last weekend for the club's Qualifying Final - ultimately a losing effort against the Dolphins - having sustained an injury in the middle of the season that wrote off the second half of his campaign.
The prop, an important part of the Warriors' middle rotation, came off the bench and was immediately looking close to his best before suffering an ankle injury in an awkward looking tackle.
Ford is unable to play this weekend after the 24-minute stint was cut short, but the club has refused to suggest his season is over.
The minor injury means Ford could be back in time for a potential Preliminary Final, and if not the Grand Final, although the Auckland-based outfit have not put an official timeline on his return.
James Fisher-Harris and Mitch Barnett will continue starting for Andrew Webster's side this weekend.
They will need plenty out of the back up brigade led by Demitric Vaimauga and Tanner Stowers-Smith if they are to dominate the middle of the park against a gallant Knights side who knocked over the South Sydney Rabbitohs last Friday in an upset win at Allianz Stadium.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Tanah Boyd are finished for the season with ACL injuries, while the Warriors' latest medical update did give hope that Rocco Berry and Luke Metcalf, both recovering from hamstring injuries, could be a chance of playing in the finals.
Berry will struggle to get back into the Warriors' best 17. But Metcalf, who spent a lot of the season on the outer before putting together strong performances on his return to first-grade, could start or come off the bench once he returns, with estimates putting him at the Preliminary Final stage.
