Star South Sydney Rabbitohsย and NSW Blues fullback Latrell Mitchell has reportedly succumbed to a foot injury and will miss the State of Origin decider in Brisbane on Wednesday week.
Mitchell was able to play through the injury on Thursday night as he took to the field for the Rabbitohs, with the club dismantling the Parramatta Eels and continuing an unlikely push for the finals with yet another victory.
The win was South Sydney's fifth straight under interim coach Ben Hornby, although a top eight appearance still looks a long way off, with the club likely to need seven wins from their final nine games to play in the finals series.
That job may have just gotten a whole lot harder though with News Corp reporting Latrell Mitchell - who has played a starring role at fullback during the last five games for the club - is to potentially miss multiple weeks with a foot injury.
It's understood he will have scans on Saturday afternoon to determine the full extent of the injury, but what has become clear is that he is extremely unlikely to be fit for Origin 3 and will almost certainly be left out of Michael Maguire's squad which will be named on Sunday evening.
Mitchell had come into the side for the winning effort at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the back of a suspension for Joseph Suaalii.
Suaalii is eligible to play Game 3, but there is no guarantee he will win his spot back after being sent off during Game 1, with the likes of Bradman Best - who was the incumbent for this year's series but suffered an injury in the lead-up to Game 1 - Tom Trbojevic and potentially even Jesse Ramien among the most likely options to fill Mitchell's spot.
At South Sydney, Jye Gray has just returned from injury himself at reserve grade level and is likely to slot straight into the fullback position, with the Rabbitohs to play the Dolphins next week in what will be Wayne Bennett's last game against South Sydney before taking over as head coach next year.
Following that, the Rabbitohs' run to the finish line will see them play the Wests Tigers, Canberra Raiders, Cronulla Sharks, Melbourne Storm, Tigers again, Newcastle Knights, Penrith Panthers and Sydney Roosters, with the club having already used all three of their byes.
Origin 3 meanwhile will be played on Wednesday, July 17 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
