New Penrith skipper Matt Moylan has ruled himself out of next week's NRL season opener but is content to take a risk-free approach to his return.
Moylan suffered a stress fracture in his lower back several weeks ago which flared during the Panthers' final trial on Saturday against Parramatta.
The setback is a sharp blow for the 24-year-old whose 2015 campaign was cut short by an ankle injury which also cruelled his chances of pushing for a NSW State of Origin jumper.
Having spent so long on the sidelines, Moylan does not want to exacerbate the latest injury and says he is happy to take a cautious approach with his comeback.
"It's a long season so it's probably not a good idea to risk it if it's not right to go," Moylan said.
"It's probably a week-to-week proposition. It's just a matter of whether or not it responds to training."
Initial reports suggested Moylan could miss the first month but he said he could return as early as round two against Canterbury.
"There's a few things that still give me pain but it's not too bad," Moylan said.
"I'll just rip into rehab and see how it responds to that."
With Moylan out, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak is likely to fill in at fullback with Waqa Blake to come into the backline.
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