South Sydney's premiership campaign has been rocked by another injury blow with star Adam Reynolds sidelined indefinitely with a back fracture.
Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett has also confirmed Cody Walker will be rested for Friday's NRL clash with Newcastle after making his State of Origin debut.
Reynolds' misfortune comes in the same week captain Sam Burgess revealed he would be going in for shoulder surgery after next week and miss two matches.
The rest of the Rabbitohs Origin contingent - Dane Gagai, Cameron Murray and Damien Cook - will back up at ANZ Stadium.
Reynolds' injury, which doesn't require surgery, will cruel any hope he had of earning an Origin recall for the Blues following their game one collapse.
"It's serious enough that he can't play but it's not something that'll be 2-3 months," Bennett said of Reynolds' injury.
"It's just when he's pain-free, he'll be able to play again.
"He's not pain-free at the moment."
Bennett was stunned when he learned Reynolds suffered the injury early in their round-11 loss to Parramatta that snapped their seven-game winning run.
Reynolds was fielding a grubber when he copped a knee in the back.
"He certainly got up very slow and very sluggish but he managed to get through the game. No one's sure how he did that. Obviously in a lot of pain," Bennett said.
"X-rays showed later on showed a small fracture in the lower back."
Adam Doueihi and second-gamer Connor Tracey will play in the halves for the second-placed Rabbitohs side, who trail Melbourne on percentages.
The game also marks the anticipated return of James Roberts, who switched from Brisbane last week after falling out of favour with coach Anthony Seibold.
They take on a Knights outfit that have reeled off five straight victories to sit in fourth - their highest spot in the Nathan Brown era.
It will be the first meeting between the two coaches since Brown's infamous press conference last year when he personally attacked Bennett.
When asked if it was water under a bridge now, Bennett said: "I can't even remember what it was.
"They've played some pretty good football over the last month. They'll be affected by Origin like we are. It's a bit of a tough game for both clubs.
"Your best players are away playing Origin and they've got to come back and play for you two days later. It does have an impact."
STATS THAT MATTER
* South Sydney have won nine straight against Newcastle - the equal longest NRL streak against a single rival.
* Another win for the Rabbitohs will lift their record to 11-2, giving a Bennett-coached side their best start to a season in 14 years.
* Another home win would give them six straight to start the season, something they haven't achieved since 1982.
