ADAM O'Brien faces one of the toughest decisions of coaching career as the Newcastle Knights sweat on the availability of skipper Kalyn Ponga for Sunday's do-or-die play-off against Canberra at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Ponga damaged the AC joint in his right shoulder during Newcastle's 32-6 win against Cronulla eight days ago and has been receiving intensive physiotherapy, as well as cortisone injections, in the hope he will be cleared to take his place against the Raiders.
O'Brien rested Ponga for last week's 32-12 win against St George Illawarra and said after that game he was confident the 25-year-old would be available for week one of the finals.
But Ponga's teammates have since suggested there is no guarantee that he will be ready to return so soon after sustaining an injury the Knights have described as "high-grade".
Newcastle lock Adam Elliott was asked on Foxtel's Matty Johns Show on Sunday for an update on Ponga and halfback Jackson Hastings, who has missed the past three games with an ankle injury, and replied: "I wouldn't say they're certainties.
"Jacko is probably more likely. KP is doing everything he can. It's obviously a week away ... I think both boys will be confident they'll be playing."
While painkilling injections can enable players to carry AC-joint injuries into games, if Ponga does play, he is likely to do so under duress and will undoubtedly attract extra attention from Canberra defenders.
"He's been doing all his rehab and had some needles," Knights prop Daniel Saifiti said.
"He's obviously not going to be 100 per cent with that type of injury. It's pretty serious.
"Obviously they [Canberra] will target him, because that's what you do with any star player. But I think he'll be right."
O'Brien has the option of again choosing lively Lachlan Miller, who replaced Ponga against the Dragons and played in 11 consecutive games at the start of the season, as his last line of defence. If Newcastle were then able to get past the Raiders, it would buy Ponga vital recovery time before week two of the finals.
Five-eighth Tyson Gamble said he was "not too sure" if Ponga would be cleared but backed Leeds-bound Miller to fill the void, if required.
"I haven't really been keeping up with his recovery, but I'd like to think so," Gamble said of Ponga's chances.
"His shoulder's pretty sore, so it'll be interesting to see how we go at training.
"But if not, 'Milky' Miller did a great job for us against the Dragons - as he did earlier in the year - and he'll do another great job for us against Canberra.
"But ideally we would like to have Kalyn back.
"He's been not only our best player, but one of the best players in the comp over the last couple of months.
"It will be tough without him, but if that's what happens, Milky will stand up and do a really good job, regardless."
The Knights held a full-squad media session on Monday but Ponga was excused from doing interviews.
Tyson Frizell substituted for him during the annual captain's call press conference in Sydney.
As well as Ponga and Hastings, back-rower Lachlan Fitzgibbon has also been sidelined for the past two games with a shoulder injury but insisted he would be fit to play against Canberra.
"I basically wasn't able to move it for about five days," Fitzgibbon said.
"It wasn't ideal but the scans came back pretty positive and I wouldn't be playing if I didn't feel confident in it."
