Cronulla Sharks head coach Craig Fitzgibbon has confirmed he expects Nicho Hynes back in action next week.
Hynes was withdrawn from Saturday evening's clash with the Melbourne Storm just over an hour before kick-off with a reported calf issue.
The severity of the problem was reported as mild, but it was unclear at that stage whether Hynes was a chance to take part in next weekend's enormous Magic Round clash against the Sydney Roosters in Brisbane.
Coach Fitzgibbon said however that Hynes should be okay to go for next weekend's game.
"Yeah... Yeah I think so," an unsure Fitzgibbon said during his post-match press conference after being quizzed over the star halfback.
"It happened pretty late. He feels okay, but we have to assess in the next 24 hours obviously. It was after captain's run, so we haven't had a great deal of time to assess it.
"I would suggest it's not significant though, so he is a good chance [of playing next week] I reckon."
Despite playing without Hynes - who has often been referred to as the one-man show for the Sharks over the last two years - the Sharks managed to pull off a surprise upset win over the Storm.
The win will do plenty to help lock in the Sharks as a top contender for this year's premiership, with the club now holding eight wins from their first nine.
The black, white and blue face a difficult stretch ahead though with matches against the Penrith Panthers, Parramatta Eels and Brisbane Broncos to follow their magic round tustle with the Roosters, who have been in mixed form but hold a five and four record from their first nine games.
