Penrith are hopeful a knee injury to five-eighth Jarome Luai will only sideline the Panthers star for a couple of weeks and he'll be back well before the NRL finals begin.
Luai hurt his left knee in the 20-10 win over Cronulla last weekend, where he capped a starring performance against the Sharks with their match-sealing try in the dying minutes.
The Panthers have confirmed Luai has suffered a suspected MCL injury after a picture emerged on social media on Monday of the playmaker with his knee in a brace.
While scans are yet to determine the full extent of the injury, Penrith are hopeful it will only rule Luai out for one-to-two weeks.
It does however mean the premiers will be without the NSW State of Origin representative for this Friday's game against Parramatta.
The Eels are the only team to beat Penrith in 2022, defeating Ivan Cleary's team by two points in a round-nine boilover.
Sean O'Sullivan, who deputised for halfback Nathan Cleary during the Origin series, appears the most likely replacement in the halves for Luai although Kurt Falls also donned the No.6 jersey for the Panthers while Luai was away with the Blues.
