Canberra fullback Jack Wighton will miss up to three weeks of NRL footy after suffering an eye-socket injury during Sunday night's loss to the Warriors.
Scans confirmed bad news for the exciting 22-year-old after he picked up the injury through a head clash with teammate Jeremy Hawkins just minutes into the match.
Wighton played on through the pain for the full 80 minutes, but was noticeably less involved for the remainder of the outing.
The Raiders on Tuesday confirmed he will miss between two and three weeks.
Wighton is one of the club's most exciting young players, but has had a horror run of injuries since debuting in 2012 including a broken leg, thumb and toe.
Fortunately for the Raiders, Jordan Rapana has been cleared to return from a hamstring injury and is set to replace Wighton at fullback against St George Illawarra in Canberra this Saturday.
With winger Jeremy Hawkins missing a week with suspension, Jarrad Kennedy moves from second row into the centres to cover Edrick Lee, who will slide out to wing.
That will see Josh Papalii move from front row to second row, while Dane Tilse will return to the front row for what will be his 200th NRL match.
The Raiders have also confirmed that David Shillington and Joel Edwards will miss extended periods with injury.
Shillington will have surgery on his thumb, ruling him out for six to eight weeks, while Joel Edwards has a toe injury which will see him in a protective boot for up to a month before he can return to training.
Raiders: Jordan Rapana, Sisa Waqa, Jarrod Croker (c), Jarrad Kennedy, Edrick Lee, Blake Austin, Mitch Cornish, Shannon Boyd, Josh Hodgson, Dane Tilse, Josh Papalii, Iosia Soliola, Shaun Fensom. Interchange: Josh McCrone, Frank-Paul Nuuausala, Paul Vaughan, Luke Bateman.
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