Massive new blow for Souths as club rocked by more bad news about Latrell

Yahoo

20 hours ago

Wayne Bennett has revealed Latrell Mitchell won't play in the Rabbitohs' game against Parramatta on Saturday night due to a pinched nerve in his back. Mitchell made his return from a quad injury last weekend, helping Souths beat the Titans to move off the bottom of the NRL ladder with four rounds remaining in the regular season.
But he's been struck down by more bad luck and won't be able to take his place against the Eels in Round 24. Speaking to the media on Friday, Bennett revealed Mitchell won't play due to a pinched nerve in his back that he picked up last weekend.
The State of Origin player didn't participate in the captain's run on Friday morning, with Bayleigh Bentley-Hape expected to switch to centre and Tyrone Munro coming in on the wing. Mitchell made his return in the centres last week after an earlier than expected return from a quad issue that sidelined him for a month, which saw Jye Gray remain at fullback.
'He's not playing. He's pinched a nerve in his back and he's not mobile enough,' Bennett said. 'He did it in the game (last week). We're disappointed he's not playing but we think he should be back next week.
'He's disappointed because he's hardly played any football in the last three months. You can be sad about it, you can be anything you like about it. But the bottom line is that he's not playing and he's not fit to play.'
In better news for Souths fans, Bennett said Cody Walker will play and start on the bench. The veteran playmaker has suffered a number of soft tissue injuries this season and struggled to string games together. Walker's absence has been part of a wider issue that's seen Souths decimated by an unprecedented injury toll.
Souths players not allowed to talk about wooden spoon
Mitchell's absence will put Souths in danger of slipping back to the wooden spoon if they lose to Parramatta and the Titans cause an upset over Cronulla. The Rabbitohs and Knights (18) are currently just two points ahead of the last-placed Titans (16), while the Cowboys are on 19 and the Eels 20.
Bennett has never taken the wooden spoon in 37 years of coaching in the premiership, although he did receive one in 1981 while coaching Brothers in the Brisbane Rugby League. 'It's a word we're not allowed to say,' Jacob Host revealed last week. 'He (Bennett) just avoids it at all costs.
"We've had a lot of injuries this year and performances in certain areas haven't been as good as we wanted it to be, but we're trying to go out there and keep fighting with the gloves up each week.'
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Bennett had praised Mitchell's influence in their important win over Gold Coast last weekend. The superstar centre laid on two tries for Alex Johnston and saved one when he knocked the ball out of Jayden Campbell's grasp over the line.
"We probably don't win if he doesn't play," Bennett said. "The other guys have all been playing their hearts out and doing their best. He's just a quality player, in the top four or five in the country, and showed that today."