Hodgson a "slim chance" to play Raiders semi-final

Josh Hodgson is unlikely to play in Canberra’s NRL semi-final against Penrith are slim, however, Blake Austin is confident he will return from a hand injury.

Hodgson confirmed he has suffered ligament damage and bone bruising when his ankle rolled in the Raiders’ qualifying final loss to Cronulla on Saturday.

“It’s not great. Chances wise, it’s very slim, but I’m just going to do everything I can to try and be right for the weekend,” Hodgson told reporters on Tuesday.

The Raiders hooker, who has missed only one game this season through suspension, said he will give himself until at least Friday to see how he feels.

The final call, though, will be made by coach Ricky Stuart.

“I’m having to play it day by day. It settled down pretty well yesterday, but today it’s a little bit sore again,” he said.

However Austin is on track to come back for his first game after stepping up his training load from a broken hand this week.

Saturday’s semi-final would be his first post-season appearance of his career.

“I’m quite confident I’d be able to get plenty done tomorrow and get my head right for the game,” Austin said.

While Stuart is set to make the call on Hodgson, Austin said he is likely to be the one to decide how much work he can handle with his hand.

“You’re never going to have full tackling at training. It’s never going to stack up going into the game. It’d be about doing as much as I can,” he said.

“It’s getting to the point now where it’s just going to be mental. It’s going to be making sure I feel comfortable and ready to head into the game.”

Hodgson said he had a similar injury when playing for Hull KR in the English Super League, and that took a couple of weeks to recover from.

Asked what he will need to do to be fit for Saturday’s sudden-death clash at GIO Stadium, the in-form rake said he’s simply got to run.

“If I can, I’ll be sweet. It’d be devastating (if I can’t play). It’s been a big year and I always want to be playing every game with the boys and for the team,” he said.

Kurt Baptiste is his likely replacement at No.9, with Adam Clydsdale potentially on the bench.

The 25-year-old was confident he could fill Hodgson’s massive shoes.

“I’ll be ready for whatever minutes I have to play,” Baptiste said.

“I’ve got a good bunch of blokes around me, I’ve got good halves there that can help me out. So I’ll confident I can do the job.”