Wests Tigers five-eighth Benji Marshall will miss at least a month of NRL action after scans confirmed the New Zealand Test star had fallen victim to a turf toe injury in Monday night's loss to Melbourne.
The club had feared Marshall could be out for up to three months but, despite scans revealing he had picked up the dreaded toe ligament injury, coach Mick Potter remained confident the 28-year-old would return for the Tigers' round-nine clash with Cronulla.
Marshall will stay in a moon boot for the next fortnight, ruling him out of Friday week's Test match against Australia in Canberra.
Marshall was named to face St George Illawarra on Sunday, with a replacement yet to be confirmed.
Tim Moltzen has experience in the halves, and a move would allow youngster James Tedesco to shift from the wing to his preferred role at fullback, while halfback Jacob Miller was only recently dropped to reserve grade.