Latrell Mitchell's South Sydney teammates expect the star fullback will serve his white-powder suspension this season as the NRL prepares to make a call on his foot injury.
The NRL says Mitchell needs to be passed fit by Souths medical staff to serve the one-game ban he incurred for being pictured with a white powder in a Dubbo hotel room last month.
Three separate doctors engaged by the Rabbitohs cleared Mitchell as fit to play in the last round of the regular season but, as of late Tuesday, the league was still deliberating.
Souths interim coach Ben Hornby was initially adamant Mitchell suffered a season-ending injury in round 18, meaning any suspension would wait until 2025.
But Hornby backflipped shortly before the NRL's sanctions were finalised last Thursday, claiming Mitchell could be fit for round 27 and therefore free to serve his ban when Souths face the Sydney Roosters.
Mitchell did not participate in the Rabbitohs' field session on Tuesday, riding an exercise bicycle at the club's Heffron Park headquarters instead.
St George Illawarra-bound Damien Cook fully expects to see Mitchell playing in round one of the 2025 season.
"It'd be nice to play with him one last time but he'll get that suspension out of the way (against the Roosters) and a fresh start next year," the hooker said.
Prop forward Thomas Burgess, who will return to the United Kingdom next year, joked that Souths should have been putting Mitchell through his paces to prove his fitness.
"We'll get him back in the hot box, get him on the cardio," the Englishman said.
"I was hoping to play with him one last time this weekend. He was ready to go but unfortunately he's got the suspension so I won't be playing with him."
In addition to his ban, Mitchell will pay $20,000 in NRL-imposed fines and $20,000 up front to the Rabbitohs over his white-powder saga.
The Rabbitohs will trigger an additional $80,000 in fines if their star player reoffends.
The white-powder saga is set to round out a miserable year for both Mitchell and the 15th-placed Rabbitohs, who will finish in the bottom four just two years after making a preliminary final.
Mitchell raised eyebrows with an expletive-laden radio cross in March, then missed three games for raising his elbow into Shaun Johnson's face while coach Jason Demetriou's job was on the line the next month.
He surged back to form to star for NSW in the second State of Origin match, only to suffer his foot injury in the round-18 win over Parramatta and miss game three.
