Widnes Vikings have ruled out hooker Aaron Heremaia for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
The hooker underwent scans after suffering the injury in the Vikings’ defeat to Wakefield on Friday night.
Results showed the former Hull FC star had suffered a serious injury which will keep him out for around 10 weeks.
“The possibility is that he won’t play again this year with a ten week turnaround. It’s a real tough one for us,” said head coach Denis Betts.
Heremaia has made 17 appearances for the club this season, playing in a variety of positions during the club’s injury-hit spells.
Chris Houston also took a knock in the defeat to Trinity, although Betts did have positive news to report on Tom Armstrong, who could return as early as Thursday for the club’s final regular season fixture against Warrington.
“We’ve had a fitness test on Tom Armstrong, he’s trained really well the last two weeks and he’s got his last bit of protocol to do which gives him a chance to play.
“So there’s players coming back into that group that haven’t played for a bit. So there’s a chance to rotate a few of them back into the team.”
Alex Gerrard and Greg Burke could also make their returns this week while Lloyd White and Rhys Hanbury are expected to return for the start of the Qualifiers.