Cameron Munster and Blake Green are likely to fall victim to Melbourne's five-day break and miss the NRL pacesetter's trip this weekend to Brisbane.
Wily Storm coach Craig Bellamy says he's "more hopeful than confident" of their availability for the Friday night blockbuster at Suncorp Stadium.
Green (calf) took part in a light training session on Tuesday but Munster (ankle) wasn't seen on Gosch's Paddock as they prepared to visit their favourite NRL venue.
While their form-line of eight wins in nine weeks doesn't show it, Bellamy admits team selection has proved difficult in recent weeks, with further injuries and State of Origin absences mounting up.
Complicating the picture further is their five-day break after Sunday's 29-20 home win over the Wests Tigers, and a bye that follows their trip to Queensland.
Bellamy said the bottom line was he was eager for Munster and Green to return to the team.
"I can't remember the last time we had such a bad injury run as we've had this year," he said.
"We'd like them to be ready (for Brisbane) especially if they get the weekend off after.
"We don't want to take that chance and them be out for another three or four weeks after that. We're stretched now and we don't want to be stretched after the Origin period."
Bellamy said Munster, who had deputised ably for injury-struck veteran Billy Slater this season, and Green would be given until the last possible minute to make the flight north.
At Suncorp, the Storm enjoy a better winning record than they do even at their AAMI Park home ground.
A win would put the Storm back on top of the ladder but Bellamy said he was more interested in a convincing showing leading into their week off.
"It's a great stadium. If not the best rugby league stadium in the world, it's very close," he said.
"But we're just worried about the points.
"Hopefully, we can go into that break feeling pretty good about ourselves."
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