Adam Reynolds remains an outside chance of playing for South Sydney in Saturday night's NRL showdown with Manly after completing his first full training session.
Reynolds was named in the No.21 jersey on Tuesday, just a fortnight after being ruled out for a month following surgery for appendicitis.
He trained with the team on Wednesday, including full-contact, and looked relatively comfortable in attack and defence.
The NRL's new mandatory 21-man team list has made it harder for clubs to sneak players back into sides and surprise their opposition.
But Rabbitohs players remained either unsure or tight-lipped when asked about his earlier-than-expected return.
"Adam? I don't know, we'll have to see," bench hooker Damien Cook said.
"He's named at 21, that's all I can give you."
Reynolds is understood to have trained lightly with the team on Monday but wasn't involved in any contact.
While coy about his prospects of playing, his teammates are all certain how valuable his inclusion would be following the loss of superstar fullback Greg Inglis.
Ingis was due to go under the knife on Wednesday on his ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and is likely out for the rest of the season.
Reynolds' value to the team is highlighted considering Souths won just two of eight games without him last year and their winning record slumps to 33 per cent whenever he has been absent since his debut in 2012.
The Rabbitohs also dropped all three games they were without both players last year.
"It'll be a great addition," forward Zane Musgrove said.
"Renno's kicking game and what he can do with the ball, it's good for us."
Burgess twins Tom and George are also on the absentee list.
Tom has been dropped entirely from the 21-man squad after playing in last week's 34-18 loss to Wests Tigers, while George is only on an extended bench after playing reserves week.
Tom's spot in the 17 has been taken by Angus Crichton, who insisted the brother's spirits remain high despite their demotion.
"They're professionals all the time," Crichton said.
"We've got a very competitive squad. We've got three or four players for each position so there are always going to be hard decisions made each week."
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