Rabbitohs veteran Jason Clark is hopeful of taking on the Broncos this Friday night as he continues to recover from the syndesmosis injury he suffered in the Round 10 win over the Wests Tigers.
The 27-year-old has been one of South Sydney's most consistent performers since making his NRL debut back in 2009 and his presence has been sorely missed with the Bunnies currently on a two-game losing streak.
Clark has been named on an extended bench for this week's trip to Brisbane and is considered a good chance of breaking into the final 17 should he get through Tuesday's training session.
"I missed two games and then we had the bye so the week off has come at the right time for me. I've been putting plenty of work into it to get it right so we'll see how I go on the field today," Clark told NRL.com.
"I did it not long after getting on against the Tigers. I was only on for maybe five or 10 minutes and then I did it, played on for a few minutes but quickly realised there was something wrong with me.
"I got it caught underneath me and then rolled over the top of it.
"I haven't done this kind of injury before so I knew something wasn't right. One of our trainers checked it and knew there was something wrong so they took me off.
"It's quite a common injury that's going around at the moment. We've got great staff here who have really helped me to progress to where I am today.
"I was in a moon boot and on crutches to let the ligaments rebuild and get scar tissue on them. Then I got out of the boot and did my rehab and everything that you normally do.
"Injuries in general are always frustrating, and to sit on the sidelines and know that you can't do anything to help is never good. Hopefully this bye has worked well for us and we've had the chance to freshen up and get ready for Friday's game."
Clark's return would be a huge boost for a Rabbitohs side that is in desperate need of a win after an underwhelming performance against the Eels a fortnight ago.
Last week's bye came at the perfect time for Michael Maguire's men who used the week off to freshen up on mini holidays with their respective families before returning to training fit and firing to get their season back on track.
There are plenty of incentives for the Rabbitohs to lift for Friday night's trip to Suncorp Stadium, but Clark said avenging their controversial 25-24 loss to the Broncos in Round 8 isn't one of them.
Several calls went against the Rabbitohs that night, with Anthony Milford's match-winning field goal appearing to come off the back of a slight bobble while Tautau Moga's second-half try could have gone either way.
"It hasn't been talked about as much as people think it would," Clark said. "It's a game that's behind us now so we can't go into this game worrying about last time."
