Canberra halfback Sam Williams will miss Sunday's NRL match against St George Illawarra to recover from a collapsed lung but isn't expected to be out long term.
Williams was hospitalised for two nights after copping a knock to the ribs during Saturday's 56-16 thrashing of Gold Coast at GIO Stadium.
He was released on Monday but has been ordered to rest at home and not return to training until next week.
Despite the seriousness of the 24-year-old's injury, his teammates said they had no idea how badly hurt he was until after the match.
Williams, who scored in the 76th minute, only complained to the doctor once in recovery, according to backrower Sio Soliola.
"I was right next to him and I didn't notice it a bit," Soliola said.
"I knew he was down for a bit at one stage early on in the match, but he showed no signs from what I saw.
"It's tough as it is for a half to actually organise us big fellas around, and to know that he was carrying that throughout the match, it's definitely given us new respect for Sam.
"He's one tough bugger."
Soliola lauded Williams' effort as a sign of leadership and commitment to the club.
"It takes some courage to put yourself and your health aside for the greater good of the team," he said.
"For me, that's everything."
Mitch Cornish is set to replace Williams in Wollongong this weekend after a man-of-the-match performance for Mounties in the NSW Cup.
Cornish was the Raiders' No.7 for the opening four rounds of the season, but paid the price for their poor start and was dumped as Blake Austin's halves partner.
The club have won four of their five matches since Williams was brought in, but prop Mark Nicholls has every faith in Cornish.
"He can just slot in and do the job that Sammy was doing," he said.
"If he can just come back and steer the forward pack around and let the backs do what they're good at - and at the moment, that's running and scoring tries."
The Raiders are chasing their fourth win in a row and a crack at the top four.
But Soliola knows it'll be a challenge.
"The boys are in good spirits at the moment, but at this stage it's dangerous," he said.
"Consistency is the main thing for us and we've just got to stay grounded."
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