The South Sydney Rabbitohs have revealed Cody Walker will miss more than a month of rugby league with a calf tear.
The star five-eighth has already missed time this year, sitting out the Round 6 clash against the North Queensland Cowboys in Perth with a hamstring problem.
That came after he raced the clock to be fit for Round 1 when South Sydney beat the Dolphins following a pre-season injury blow.
The club have now confirmed he suffered a calf tear at training during the week and will miss between four and five weeks.
It's a hammer blow for the Rabbitohs, who have lost their last two games on the bounce and were held scoreless by the Canterbury Bulldogs last weekend in front of 65,000 fans.
The Rabbitohs face the nearly impossible - by their own historical standards - trip to Melbourne to clash with the Storm this weekend in the first match without Walker, before they clash with the Newcastle Knights at Magic Round, and then play the Brisbane Broncos and Wests Tigers.
A bye in Round 12 means Walker is likely to return in Round 13 against the New Zealand Warriors.
The club have not confirmed how they will replace Walker for Friday evening's clash against the Melbourne Storm yet, but News Corp are reporting Jye Gray will be recalled from the bench to start at five-eighth.
He has played at the back over the opening seven weeks of the season, but was benched this week with Latrell Mitchell to start at fullback instead.
With Gray heading into the starting side, it could well be that Lewis Dodd earns another game off the bench. The other reserves in contention to come into the side are Liam Le Blanc, Thomas Fletcher, Salesi Ataata and Declan Casey.
South Sydney have also confirmed halfback Jamie Humphreys is tracking to return in the next two to three weeks, while Tyson Munro will need another six weeks for his collarbone injury.
