England coach Wayne Bennett has defended the decision to leave Josh Hodgson on the field after suffering a major knee injury in last week's Rugby League World Cup semi-final.
NRL club Canberra have asked England for a please explain after Hodgson attempted to play through the injury before succumbing eight minutes later against Tonga.
Hodgson was this week diagnosed with a torn ACL and is likely to be out of action for at least six months, missing a large chunk of the 2018 NRL season.
Bennett confirmed the Raiders have been sent a full report, but insisted the English hooker appeared healthy when he returned to the field at Mt Smart Stadium.
"I spoke to Josh and Josh wanted to be left on the field because he didn't know what he'd done to himself and he wasn't sure," Bennett said after the team's training session on Wednesday.
"He felt he had good movement still, which he did. He went for another seven to eight minutes."
Bennett said he kept a close eye on Hodgson when he came back on, and the Raiders No.9 didn't appear to be hampered by the initial injury.
"I watched him in that period of time because I thought the way he went down, it didn't look great. His movement was great and (after) 6-7 minutes, I was ready to replace him," he said.
"But he didn't need to be replaced. All of a sudden he changed direction and his knee collapsed underneath him.
"At the end of the day, it was Josh's decision to stay there. He believed he was okay and that's the way it happens sometimes. They're not sure. That's what we do."
Bennett's comments come after the English side were put through their paces in torrential conditions at Ballymore Stadium.
Skipper Sean O'Loughlin continued his rehab from his quad injury away from the team, with utility Jonny Lomax likely to be added to the bench should O'Loughlin be ruled out.
"He's 50-50. I'll make a decision on Friday," Bennett said.
Bennett last week began the mind games against the Kangaroos when he said his team "probably" couldn't lift the trophy, but changed tack on Wednesday.
"I'm surprised they even read what I said actually," Bennett said.
"We'll have to be very good on the night to do that. That's the challenge. Australia haven't been beaten for two years, they're pretty formidable.
"But we're here. We've earned the right to be here, so we'll do our best."
