Mitchell to miss first six rounds with hamstring tear

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Wayne Bennett's comeback to South Sydney has hit a snag with Latrell Mitchell set to join Cameron Murray on the sidelines and miss at least the first six weeks of the NRL season.

Fair dinkum, the Rabbitohs were already reeling from news that Murray might miss the whole 2025 season due to a ruptured Achilles tendon, and things just got worse for them on Thursday.

Scans have confirmed the number one will need around a two-month recovery period for a hamstring tear.

The club's million-dollar men went down within five minutes of each other during a standard training session at Heffron Park on Wednesday, leaving the start of Souths' campaign in a pretty sorry state.

The injuries come after the Rabbitohs had a terrible injury run last season, with Mitchell only available for 11 games.

Youngster Jye Gray is expected to be switched to fullback for South Sydney's Round 1 match against the Dolphins on 7 March.

Making things even more annoying for the Rabbitohs is that Mitchell had looked like he was at the top of his game this summer, after overcoming the foot problems he had last year.

"Fair dinkum, Latrell couldn't have done any more to get himself ready," Souths CEO Blake Solly said.

Wayne and I were only remarking the other Friday how good he looked and how fit he appeared.

He's had his best performance for the club so far, but that's just a minor setback, it's all part of the game and something you'd expect to see at a professional sports team.

I'm confident everything he's done since last August will serve him well in getting back on the field as soon as possible.

Mitchell's injury is in his right hamstring, after he tore his left hamstring in both 2020 and 2022 and had to spend a fair bit of time on the sidelines.

Solly said Mitchell was pretty bummed out by the news.

"That's like Cam and any player who gets crook at this time of year when they're desperate to get back out on the paddock," Solly said.

But knowing how tough a competitor Latrell is, it'll come down to how quickly I can get back on the field and what I've got to get done before I do.

Souths are yet to schedule surgery for Murray, and it's unclear if he'll be back on the field this year.

A ruptured Achilles tendon can sideline players for up to eight months, though some have managed to return to the field in about five or six months.

Keaon Kolomatangi is one option to start at lock, while youngster Tallis Duncan could also begin at No.13.

"He's had a pretty rough time with injuries," Solly said of Murray.

Cameron is a top bloke, he's got heaps of guts and is a real leader when it comes to sport.

He'll already be thinking about how quickly he can get back out there on the field and support his teammates.

The Rabbitohs have other injury worries, with Campbell Graham (hand) and Alex Johnston (achilles) both out of action and Cody Walker (calf) in a rush to be fit for round one.