Ben Hunt's disbelief at 'ridiculous' and 'random' injuries that could force his early return for Broncos

Ben Hunt may have been listed on the extended bench for the Broncos in round 10, but the veteran hooker admits he was only named to fill up numbers on the team lists.

Hunt has been sidelined with an MCL injury since round five but is nearing closer to return, with a return as soon as this week possibly on the cards.

The 36-year-old insists he is still an "outside shot" to face Manly on Saturday, despite early reports that he could be set to push himself to return earlier than anticipated.

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Coach Michael Maguire has left the door open for Hunt to make an early return.

"I have a fitness test to get through ... if I pass that then I'll be right to play," Hunt told 4BC Breakfast on Wednesday morning.

"I got told that we didn't have enough players healthy to name and you've got to name 22 players, so Madge thought he'd throw me in there."

Eleven players are currently unavailable for selection due to injury for the Broncos at this point of the season, with Kotoni Staggs also out of action due to suspension.

The injury list is stacked with long term absences, Deine Mariner and Corey Jensen are out for an extended period while Payne Haas and Grant Anderson still have at least another month on the sidelines, as per their original recovery timelines.

Hunt revealed that Mariner is still under the supervision of medical professionals in Sydney after suffering an acute compartment syndrome injury, but he is in "good spirits."

Mariner is at least six weeks away from being any chance to return.

"He will definitely be back playing at some stage, it is just a matter of when," Hunt said.

"Best case scenario is six to eight weeks and the worst case is that he won't be back until next year.

"It is pretty rough on him but he is a good character, not much is going to get him down."

Jensen, meanwhile, is playing the waiting game to return to the field as he continues to recover from a blood clot in his lung.

"It is actually ridiculous," Hunt said, as the names of injured Broncos were listed.

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"It is not like we have a run of hamstring or soft tissue injuries, it is all random things. We've had a cheek bone, a jaw, Corey Jensen's lung, Deine Mariner's got a bad cork ... it is all different things, nothing is related. It is a very bad run of injuries at the moment.

"We thought last week was the turning point, we had a few boys come back and we were starting to get healthy and then we end up losing four players including Kotoni with his suspension. It just doesn't seem to be turning for us yet."

The two-week suspension handed to Staggs only made selection harder for Maguire, with the star centre "devastated" by how much his actions have hurt the team.

His absence adds to the list of experienced leaders out for the Broncos.

"I spoke to Kotoni about it and he said, 'look, I just had a little brain snap and I was frustrated with the game and how it was going'. He just got a bit frustrated in the moment and he knows he made a mistake," said Hunt.

"Having some experience out on the field is vital, and we have been in a bit of trouble there recently. We've only had one player in the game that is in our leadership group.

"Kotoni was most disappointed because he is part of our leadership group. He really feels like he let those guys down and was a bad example."

Hunt then turned his attention to the young stars who have filled the holes opened by the club's leaders.

"We have had a number of guys that when we started the season probably didn't think they would be debuting or playing first grade, now they've played a couple of games," he said.

"I think it is really exciting for the club to see these young guys and for them to get an opportunity to help build our depth."

The Broncos will travel to Sydney to face the Manly Sea Eagles on Saturday night.