South Sydney Rabbitohs head coach Wayne Bennett has provided an update on the condition of Jack Wighton after he was ruled out of their Magic Round match against the Newcastle Knights on Saturday.
Named to captain the side following Latrell Mitchell's one-match suspension, Wighton was a late omission after he suffered a calf injury in last week's loss to the Melbourne Storm.
Replaced by Lewis Dodd in the halves, Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett has confirmed that the former NSW Blues representative will spend four to six weeks on the sidelines, in what is a massive blow to the club.
The Rabbitohs already have Cody Walker, Jamie Humphreys, Cameron Murray and Alex Johnston on their casualty ward.
"Four to six weeks, they tell us, it's a pretty serious one," Bennett said on Friday.
"It didn't worry him too much in the game. He came off the field and was a bit sore. They decided to have a scan, it was a pretty good tear."
Wighton's absence will allow Englishman Lewis Dodd to accompany Jayden Sullivan in the halves after spending back-to-back weeks on the interchange bench.
"It was a nice phone call just saying, 'I might be starting' and for it to be at Magic Round, that'll be a pretty special memory that I'll look back on some day," Dodd said viaย AAPย ahead of the clash.
"I didn't think it was going to be easy, I didn't think everything was going to go my own way.
"I wouldn't have had it any other way. It's made me a better person and a better player at the end of the day, and that's all I can ask for."
