Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans and embattled teammate Jackson Hastings can play together if selected this week, according to club boss Lyall Gorman.
A fortnight after being banished from the team, Hastings is on Tuesday expected to be included in the Sea Eagles' 21-man squad to take on Sydney Roosters.
Hastings was exiled from the team by coach Trent Barrett following an altercation with Cherry-Evans on a horror road trip to Gladstone in round five.
However, a season-ending knee injury to five-eighth Lachlan Croker has forced the Sea Eagles to recall Hastings, raising questions about whether he can co-exist with the captain.
"I have no doubt in my head if you're asking me," Gorman said on NRL.com on Monday.
"They're both professional players and if they're put together on the field at any single time, they'll deliver in their job. They're proud professionals."
Cherry-Evans was fined $10,000 for his part in the bust-up, while another four players were also slapped with $1500 fines for breaching team curfew on the same night.
Gorman backed Cherry-Evans to retain the captaincy.
"He's very remorseful about what happened there. We've all been in leadership positions and sometimes made a decision we'd change with hindsight," Gorman said.
"He's our captain and will lead us forward."
The incident comes as the club attempts to challenge salary cap sanctions imposed by the NRL for cheating the cap by $1.5 million over a period of five years.
The NRL has fined Manly $750,000 and penalised the club $330,000 from its cap this year and next year, leaving their roster in tatters.
Gorman denied the club was falling apart and the owner Scott Penn backed the club.
"We've got an appeals process which we expect to hear the end of in the next few weeks, which will at least let us know how we can move forward with our recruitment," he said.
"The football club's been there for 70-odd years. It's going nowhere and the Penn family's resolve around it has never been stronger."
