South Sydney superstar Latrell Mitchell's hamstring injury suffered in the NRL win over St George Illawarra will sideline him for at least eight weeks.
The Rabbitohs confirmed the seriousness of Mitchell's injury on Monday after the NSW State of Origin representative limped off in the first half of the 24-12 win at Accor Stadium.
"Unfortunately the MRI scan he had the next day confirmed what we expected, there was a definite tear in the hamstring," Souths' head physiotherapist Eddie Farah said.
"The tear was located in the tendon rather than the muscle and what that means is recovery is going to be a lot slower.
"At this stage we're expecting Latrell to be out for approximately eight weeks."
Blake Taafe, who came off the bench to replace Mitchell against the Dragons, looks the most likely to slot into the fullback role.
The 22-year-old stepped in as Mitchell's replacement in last year's run to the grand final after Mitchell's season-ending suspension for a hit on Sydney Roosters' Joseph Manu.
Taafe himself is only just back from an ankle injury but believes he's in a much better spot to fill-in for Mitchell than he was at the end of the 2021 season.
"Last year caught me off guard a bit," Taaffe said.
"I think knowing the standard I have to play week in week out (will help a lot). Just my effort areas around the ball."
Farah also confirmed forward Mark Nicholls' surgery on his ankle syndesmosis injury had gone well and the prop is expected to be sidelined for eight to 10 weeks.
"He's got a lot of hard work ahead of him," Farah said.
