The immediate playing future of Gold Coast star fullback AJ Brimson is in doubt as he recovers from a stress fracture in his back.
The Titans returned to training on Wednesday, with Brimson a notable omission. He did not take part in any of the 10-man group drills, but was seen in a brief appearance on the sidelines.
The 21-year-old missed the opening two rounds of the NRL season after suffering the stress fracture in the pre-season. He is not expected to be fit for the next Gold Coast's game, even with more than two months between matches.
It is concerning for Gold Coast's performance chief Mal Meninga, as Brimson is seen as one of the Titans top talents.
"It's a week by week proposition with AJ," Meninga told The Daily Telegraph.
"He can get treatment on a regular basis now. We'll see how he reacts to that.
"We've still got three weeks until we start playing. Hopefully he will be okay soon.
"It is a concern, we are concerned at the length of time it's taken to get him right. We're not quite sure [how long he will be out for]."
The six-week break has given majority of Titan's players the time to heal from recent injuries. Club captain will remain on the sidelines for the rest of the 2020 season after undergoing the third kneee reconstruction.
Gold Coast Titans have had a horror start to season 2020 under new coach Justin Holbrook. The club lost 24-6 to Canberra in Round 1 before being smashed by Parramatta, 46-6, in Round 2 before the season was suspended.
"The break's been a positive for us," captain Kevin Proctor said.
"I know a few guys in our team had some niggles, including myself, and now they're fit. There's more players available on our roster.
"It's done us a positive. All the boys are looking fit."
The entire field has been fenced off at Parkwood as the Titans return to training. Players left their shoes at the gate and put on their footy boots in the fenced off area.
The NRL's "COVID-19 cop" watched the entire training session to ensure all players and staff were adhering to the rules. Media had to gather around 50m from the playing field.
For Proctor, remembering all the new guidelines has become the toughest part.
"It is so natural to walk down to the field and wear your normal shoes," he said.
"Now you have to remember to take off the shoes in the clean zone then when you come back take off your shoes from the dirty zone.
"It'll take some getting used to but the boys have adapted pretty well.
"We're doing everything we can to make sure we're safe as we can and get the game on again.
"They've done a great job making all of these rules and regulations for us to be as safe as we can."
