Souths skipper to keep battling rib injury

South Sydney captain Sam Burgess will continue to battle a rib injury as he attempts to finish the Rabbitohs' disappointing NRL season on the field.

Burgess was again taken from the field early in the second half in the Bunnies' 32-18 loss to Canberra on Saturday night, and did not return.

The blow was a recurrence of the rib cartilage damage suffered last week against the Sharks, after initial fears earlier in the week he had copped a cracked rib.

But coach Michael Maguire admitted his star player shouldn't have played on Saturday night.

"Sam probably shouldn't have played tonight, but he puts his hand up for this club," Maguire said.

"We have great medical staff and they assess it each week.

"Sam has been around for a long time and he knows what he needs to do. When Sam says he is right, he's right."

Burgess will also need to be mindful of the end-of-year World Cup, before which he should have about eight weeks off between the end of the regular season and England's first match against Australia on October 27.

Souths face St George Illawarra next Friday night, but are no chance of playing finals football after suffering their 13th loss of the year.

Burgess said he still hoped he would be fit for Friday's encounter.

"They're pretty sore," he said.

"We'll just take it day by day through the week and see how we go."

Burgess is one of several players battling injuries at the Rabbitohs, with young forward Angus Crichton also playing through a stress fracture in his foot.