TJ Perenara is close to signing with the injury riddled Roosters, according to prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
The All Blacks star has been linked to a move to the NRL with the Roosters following injuries to key players.
Veteran Brett Morris and Lindsay Collins both suffered ACL injuries in the Chooks' Round 8 win over the Knights. The duo will join Luke Keary on the sidelines, who suffered an ACL injury in Round 3.
Waerea-Hargreaves said he had spoken to commentator and former player Sonny Bill Williams about Perenara's future before the Roosters' Round 6 clash.
“I spoke with Sonny and he reckons he’s good mates with TJ. He’s close [to signing],” Waerea-Hargreaves said.
“We are obviously super keen. We’d love to have a guy of his calibre definitely amongst our squad, especially now with the injuries."
There were emotional scenes after Saturday's match as Morris, who was widely expected to retire at season's end, came to terms with a potentially career-ending injury. Morris' injury comes after the mid-season retirement of fellow veteran Jake Friend, who suffered a nasty concussion in Round 1.
Speaking on the horror injury toll at the Roosters, Waerea-Hargreaves stressed the importance of remaining as a united group.
“It’s just about staying tight. I actually wanted to come into training yesterday, but we had the day off,” he said.
“We’ve copped a lot of big injuries the last few weeks and you have a lot of young guys sitting in a room who don’t really know the highs and lows of rugby league.
“It was just making it clear whatever we are doing we do together we stay tight and we stay united because you can start overthinking things and you can go into your own shell.”
The Roosters will be boosted by the expected return of captain James Tedesco as they look to put an emotional week behind them in their Round 9 clash against the 2nd-placed Eels.