South Sydney officials have confirmed backrower John Sutton will be sidelined for up to 16 weeks after rupturing his pectoral muscle in the club's 42-10 win over the Roosters on Sunday afternoon at Allianz Stadium.
The injury occurred in the dying stages of the 42-10 win when Sutton attempted a goal-line tackle on Ian Henderson.
Sutton's teammate Bryson Goodwin had earlier been hoping his former skipper would only miss a couple of weeks, but scans confirmed the bad news shortly after.
"He was a bit disappointed as everyone is when they get injured," Goodwin said.
With Sutton out, Souths will turn to Paul Carter and Kyle Turner, who both had big games at the weekend, and are likely to retain their starting spots, even with George Burgess expected to slot back into the side.
The Rabbitohs have other injury worries, with star halfback Adam Reynolds awaiting scan results on a possible broken jaw.
The 25-year-old left the field after 58 minutes with blood coming out of his mouth after making a tackle on Kane Evans.
Reynolds missed seven games last year with a broken thumb as well as a knee injury suffered in the Good Friday win over the Bulldogs. The 2014 premiership-winner was at his controlling best on Sunday, leading his side around the park with a series of centimetre prefect kicks.
His absence would likely open the door for Luke Keary to come back into the side after missing the Round 1 win through suspension.
The dynamic five-eighth is expected to partner Cody Walker in the halves for Saturday's clash with the Newcastle Knights, after the 26-year-old debutant excelled in his first game of NRL.
"I was really impressed. I think everyone was impressed. He went really well. He took the line on, he defended well, set up a few tries, so couldn't have asked for much more," Goodwin said of his rookie teammate.
Damien Cook left the field midway through the second half with a head knock, but came back on to finish the game, while skipper Greg Inglis looked to have injured his knee on the stroke of half time.
The fullback soldiered on in the second half and is confident he'll be right to face the Knights at the weekend.
"I just got a knee knocked into the ground. I think it's just precautionary. Got to see the doc now and we'll go from there."