More pain for busted Bunnies as Cody Walker ruled out for at least a month
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South Sydney has been hit with more injury pain as gun playmaker Cody Walker faces a month in the casualty ward.
Bunnies coach Wayne Bennett on Thursday revealed Walker will miss at least four weeks, and possibly five, after injuring a calf muscle at training this week.
Walker was named at five-eighth on Tuesday but will be withdrawn from the team.
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Diminutive fullback Jye Gray will come into the team and surprisingly line up in the halves, while Latrell Mitchell remains at fullback - according to Bennett.
"(Walker is) not playing. He's hurt his calf, got a severe tear there training two days ago, three days ago, so he'll be out for four or five weeks," Bennett said.
Cody Walker of the Rabbitohs. Getty
"Jye Gray will come in, and Latrell will be the captain.
"(Five-eighth) was his (Gray's) junior position. All his senior football has been at fullback, but I'm confident he can do the job for us.
"We're all disappointed, but (Walker is) most disappointed because it impacts on him personally, but nothing we can do about it.
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"It wasn't the hamstring, the hamstring is the last one he had, so, different area, opposite leg. It just happens. No reason why they happen, just as you get older I think they become a little bit more vulnerable."
Strangely, $700,000-a-season recruit Lewis Dodd remains out of the starting side despite being a specialist halfback.
Bennett indicated Dodd may come into the team and replace Gray on the bench.
The Walker injury continues a horror run for the Rabbitohs this season.
Rising halfback Jamie Humphreys is sidelined for a couple more weeks with a hamstring issue, while captain Cameron Murray is out for the season with an Achilles issue that also got infected last week.
They face Melbourne on Friday in what has been a disastrous road trip to the Victorian capital for South Sydney in recent years.