Burns set for lengthy sideline stint after double trouble with left leg

Rabbitohs centre Braidon Burns could be in for a lengthy stint on the sidelines after he left ANZ Stadium with two injuries to his left leg – a damaged hamstring and a suspected fractured ankle.

Neither South Sydney officials or coach Wayne Bennett knew the extent of the twin injuries but one thing is certain - the 22-year-old will not be able to play against Manly at Lottoland on Saturday.

He left the sheds on crutches with his left upper leg strapped and his left foot and ankle in a moon boot. He is booked in for scans on Monday.

His injuries in the 24th minute of Sunday's 28-20 win over the Titans comes on top of the Rabbitohs right centre in Greg Inglis (shoulder) also in the casualty ward.

"We are down two," Bennett said referring to his starting centres.

"[Burns] did his hamstring and his ankle … his hamstring went first and then an ankle problem.

"I think our depth is OK. GI might be back next week – he may not be either but he won't be far away."

Stop-gap measures could entail Jacob Gagan or Cory Denniss from South Sydney's Canterbury Cup side or 20-year-old centre Mawene Hiroti, who made his NRL debut in round 23 last year.

While Bennett compiles his team to meet the Sea Eagles, he isn't the slightest concerned about the state of the Lottoland surface, where Roosters winger Brett Morris tore knee ligaments in round two citing the state of the ground as "very disappointing".

"So one player … they condemned Lang Park, or Suncorp Stadium, when it first opened but we just got on with it," Bennett said.

"What are we going to do?"

One thing Bennett isn't going to do is inspect the ground himself before Saturday's 3pm kick-off.

"I’m not in the habit of running around inspecting fields. They just tell us if we can play on them."

NRL head of football Graham Annesley is expected to release the results this week from an independent inspection of the ground by NRL-commissioned experts.

Aside from all those logistics, the Rabbitohs find themselves one of only two unbeaten teams alongside Melbourne after three rounds.

The lowly ranked Titans made Bennett's team work for their win on Sunday.

"It was a bit of a mixed day today. They're a difficult team to play," he said.

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"At one stage they completed 15 out of 16 sets. We just had to weather that storm.

"I don't think our line was broken but we finished up with 20 points against us – kicks, intercepts and soft tries.

"So I’m not jumping out of my skin, but at the same time to win three games out of three is not a bad effort."