Newcastle Knights captain Kalyn Ponga is set to miss 6 to 8 weeks with a hamstring injury and star recruit Dylan Brown faces a month on the sideline with a MCL strain.
The loss of two of their superstars took some of the gloss off the Knights' courageous win over Manly but the expected return this week of Fletcher Sharpe from a PCL injury suffered in Vegas is a bright spot for Justin Holbrook's men.
The Club says scans have confirmed a high-grade hamstring strain for Ponga and initial forecasts for his return to play is 6 to 8 weeks, depending on his response to rehabilitation.
They say Brown sustained a knee injury during the match, and scans confirmed a grade 2 MCL strain, which will sideline the 25-year-old for an estimated four weeks.
Ponga had made a dazzling start to the match but was forced from the field in the 28th minute after tweaking his right hamstring on a 30-metre sprint to the line for a try.
The Knights will face the Warriors at 4pm Saturday.
In other matches, the Raiders wil face the Bulldogs at 9pm Thursday, the Roosters will take on the Panthers at 7pm Friday, and the Storm will meet the Broncos at 9pm Friday.
