Parramatta's top four aspirations have hit another roadblock, with fullback Bevan French not expected to return to the paddock until at least the first week of the finals.
It comes as Parramatta back-rower Manu Ma'u faces up to two weeks on the sidelines for a shoulder charge on Titans halfback Ash Taylor, but the Eels are set to take the early guilty plea and ensure he only misses one game.
With Clint Gutherson already ruled out of the remainder of Parramatta's campaign, the injury to French is a major stumbling block for the Eels who need to win at least one of their final two games against Brisbane and South Sydney to make the top four.
French missed last week's game against Newcastle with the hamstring injury and lasted just 36 minutes on his return, aggravating the same injury that now looks like keeping him off the paddock for the remainder of the regular season.
Eels coach Brad Arthur will give Will Smith, who scored two tries in the second half of Thursday night's win against the Titans, the chance to wear the No.1 jersey over the next fortnight as the Eels prepare to play finals football for the first time in eight years.
Parramatta won't fight the Ma'u shoulder charge, a challenge which Arthur referred to as "dumb" in the post match press conference on Thursday night.
Next Thursday's blockbuster against the Broncos in Brisbane will go a long way to deciding the make up of the top four, but Arthur was adamant he wouldn't risk any players at the expense of securing a top four spot.
"It's just tight. We can run the gauntlet and push him and leave him out there, but the risk of injury is greater," Arthur said after the game.
"There's not much in it, but at this stage of the year we have blokes there that can do a job. I'll be guided by what our medical department say and we don't want to put Bevan at risk.
"The other thing is that we need to show confidence and belief in Will that he can get the job done ... We'll get some time during the week to help him out and work on a few areas of his game."
Corey Norman, who was taken from the field in the last five minutes to nurse a groin injury, is expected to be given the all clear to take on his former club.
"My groin was a bit sore coming into the game," Norman said.
"If I can give it a rest that's always handy. Five minutes is not much but I'll take it. It's been there, just one of those injuries I can feel. Coming into the game it was a bit more sore than usual. I've got a couple of days to look after it and get up there and get ready."
Norman believes the match against the Broncos will provide his team with a gauge of where they stand as premiership contenders, especially considering they will still be hurting from a 28-14 loss to the Eels at ANZ Stadium a month ago.
"There's no doubt they'll be after us after what we did to them down here a couple of weeks ago," Norman said.
"Up at Suncorp in front of their home crowd, they'll definitely be there to play. We'll see where we are at next week. I think what we really need to do is have a look at ourselves. You know what you're going to get from the Broncos. They'll play for 80 and dangerous all across the park. We just need to worry about ourselves.
"Everyone loves playing up at Suncorp, good crowd, good atmosphere. You always want to get over your ex-team, but I don't really think about it during the week. But yeah, it'll be good to get a win against them. I got Josh McGuire the last time we played them. He's pretty easy to get. I was rubbing his head when he knocked on and he flipped it a bit."
