St George Illawarra Dragons forward Jack de Belin's Origin hopes have taken a dent after he was restricted to just 30 minutes on Sunday.
De Belin's aggression and energy was a big loss for his side as they struggled against an in-form Souths line-up who took out the clash 24-10.
The 27-year-old left the game after just 19 minutes in the first half due to his injury and his second-half return didn't fare much bettter as he was once again forced from the field.
He also failed to train throughout the week with a hip pointer injury.
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De Belin's coach Paul McGregor was tight-lipped when it came to revealing the extent of his powerful forward's injury.
“I can’t tell you that ... It’s on his body,” McGregor said.
“Jack was one of them guys that didn’t train all week and played pretty much no minutes.
“We used two interchanges on it. It’s a bit of a lesson there.”
With the seriousness of the injury unknown, it could be a major blow for not only Mary and the Red V but also for New South Wales.
De Belin is almost a lock-in to feature in the Blues State of Origin side with the back rower a favourite of coach Brad Fittler.
The NSW Origin hopeful is averaging 27 tackles, 11 runs and 92 metres a game this season for his side.
The big man narrowly missed out on selection in 2017 after he was named 18th man for NSW but his form of late has made him a shoo-in for this year's series, if he's fit of course.
He will remain in doubt for his team's clash against Canberra in Mudgee on Sunday as well as the State of Origin series which kicks off on June 6 in Melbourne.
De Belin has played 139 games for the Dragons and represented NSW Country on two occasions.
