Raiders hit with two injuries in NRL

Canberra have been hit with two injuries as the Raiders look to make a late charge towards the NRL finals.

Tongan international Ata Hingano will be out for the rest of the season after the 21-year-old halfback suffered an ankle injury in the Test against Samoa on Saturday.

Forward Luke Bateman will join Hingano on the sidelines after undergoing knee surgery last week, but he's only expected to be out for four weeks.

Hingano's syndesmosis injury will require surgery, ending his debut season in Canberra after crossing from the Warriors.

It continues a terrible injury run for the Raiders in international games after star hooker Josh Hodgson ruptured his ACL in last year's World Cup for England.

Hodgson made his comeback in star fashion when Canberra smashed Wests Tigers in their game before the representative bye.

Ace winger Jordan Rapana is already out injured after tearing his hamstring in the Raiders' round 14 match against Penrith and will push for an appearance late in the season.

In better news for Canberra, Junior Paulo is pushing towards a return to the team after suffering a foot injury against the Gold Coast in round nine.

The Raiders say Paulo, who will leave for Parramatta at the end of the season, is ahead of schedule in his recovery.