South Sydney halfback Adam Reynolds is in doubt for Saturday’s NRL clash with Canterbury after aggravating a back injury he suffered earlier this year.
Reynolds’ back seized up in the second half of Sunday’s loss to Melbourne but couldn’t come off because the team had exhausted all eight interchanges.
The Rabbitohs’ No.7 revealed needing a cortisone injection last week to manage the pain, which was enough to force him out of their final training session.
And the injury again flared up in Gosford.
“My lower back just gave way. I had an injection during the week and thought it would settle down in time,” Reynolds told AAP.
“Obviously not ideal, but I’ve got full trust in the medical staff and I’m sure they’ll look after me. It’s just one of those things. It’s footy, you get on with life.
“It just means you’ve gotta work harder behind the scenes to get yourself right.”
The 29-year-old missed two games in June after copping an accidental knee that fractured his back against Parramatta.
And while Reynolds has since strung together six consecutive games, he admitted being left frustrated by his inability to train consistently in recent weeks.
“I’ve sat out a couple of sessions lately. I got the cortisone the other day so hopefully fingers crossed it settles down in time this week,” he said.
“The physios and medical staff, they’re right behind it and know what’s going on. I’ll leave it in their hands. They’ve dealt with this sort of thing before.”
South Sydney medical staff said Reynolds showed signs of improvement on Monday, however rated the playmaker only “some” chance of facing the Bulldogs.
Skipper Sam Burgess (quad) and centre Braidon Burns (hamstring) are likely to return after missing the Storm defeat with injury.
But with the finals less than a month away, it’s Reynolds’ health that will be major concern for Rabbitohs fans
“He’s a day-to-day proposition from here,” Rabbitohs head of performance Jarrod Wade said on Monday.
“We’re hopeful that he’ll be able to get into some training this week. And the fact that he’s improved overnight means he’s some chance for the weekend.”