Connor Watson is poised to return from a groin injury.
Watson was ruled out of last week's game against North Queensland after lacking power in his running game, but nib Newcastle Knights Physical Performance manager, Tony Ayoub, expects him to face the Wests Tigers on Friday.
"He had a minor groin strain," Ayoub said of the No.6.
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"He pulled up pretty good after the couple of runs he's had over the weekend.
"We expect him to take his spot. He's improving every day."
Meanwhile, Mitchell Pearce copped a whack to the face last week which saw him receive several staples to stop the bleeding.
"He's fine," Ayoub said.
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"He just had a bit of a sore head. Unfortunately, he nicked a blood vessel. It was quite deep. You've got to give the kid credit, he's a tough young man."
Finally, Kalyn Ponga has been managing an ankle complaint for the last week.
He completed the game last week but didn't train with the team on Monday.
"He had a minor ankle sprain last week," Ayoub said of Ponga.
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"He didn't train (on Monday). That was more precautionary than anything else, just to give him a bit of time off.
"Coming off the back of a hamstring injury, we thought it best to unload him and we expect him to take his place on the weekend."
Injured players and expected return dates:
Tautau Moga (ACL, Season)
Slade Griffin (Knee, Season)
Jacob Saifiti (Shoulder, Round 22-23)
Nathan Ross (Groin, Round 22)
Jacob Lillyman (Abdominal, Round 22)
Connor Watson (Groin, Round 21)
Kalyn Ponga (Ankle, Round 21)
