South Sydney back-rower Kyle Turner says last weekend's injury scare against the Roosters was nothing to be worried about.
Turner required assistance from South Sydney medical staff during the Rabbitohs' 42-10 win over the Roosters on Sunday afternoon, but allayed any fears when he quickly returned to the field.
The Coonabarabran Unicorns junior seriously injured his neck while making a tackle in the 2015 NRL All Stars game, and faced the possibility of never playing rugby league again.
Successful disc replacement surgery in his neck, followed by extensive rehabilitation, allowed Turner to make his comeback in Round 21 against the Panthers last year and the 24-year-old has excelled ever since.
"Yeah it was more precautionary than anything, me on the sideline with the doc. Other than that it's nothing to be worried about. Everything's fine now," Turner said.
"It's been a while since the injury happened and there's always that, I guess, little risk of something else happening. But as I said, I'm pretty confident now with how it is."
Turner made the most of his time in the starting side, scoring a try, running for 110 metres and making 26 tackles in a 66-minute performance at lock.
He also set up a try with a miraculous pass to centre Bryson Goodwin, and confirmed he would likely increase his ball-playing with Sutton expected to miss the next 16 weeks.
"We'll see how we go. It was a bit of a fluke but pretty exciting anyway," he quipped.
"I guess it gives me the opportunity to play a bit more of a ball playing role. 'Sutto' brought a lot to the team on that edge. It's going to be tough shoes to fill, but I'm looking forward to the challenge.
"He [coach Michael Maguire] told me mainly to not go outside my game too much, but if the opportunity arises then definitely look for that ball playing opportunity and I'll look to develop that through the year as I get more games under my belt."
After the comprehensive 32-point win against the Roosters in Round 1 Turner says all of his focus is now on the Knights, who are coming off a disappointing 18-point loss away to the Titans.
The 24-year-old believes Saturday's game at ANZ Stadium will be won up front, and is relishing the chance to take on a Newcastle pack that will be keen to atone for last week's loss.
"The forwards have got to do the tough work up front. I think we did a really good job supporting each other up the middle. We've got to really back it up this week against the Knights," Turner said.
"They've got a tough side and we know whatever 17 they put on the field, we've got to be on our game for. Korbin Sims, I know he can play some big minutes and made a big impact. I can't wait to get out there and look for the challenge."
