NRL: Injuries deal more pain to struggling Knights

Jarrod Mullen during the round 19 NRL match against the Melbourne Storm. Photo / Getty Images

Newcastle's difficult season shows no sign of abating after playmaker Jarrod Mullen suffered a possible recurrence of a hamstring injury.

On track for the worst season in the NRL era, the Knights' woes continued on Sunday as Mullen spent the second half of their 36-4 mauling to Cronulla on the sidelines.

Having returned the week before from a hamstring injury which had kept him out since round eight, it's feared Mullen has aggravated the problem.

But Knights coach Nathan Brown is none the wiser about the seriousness of the injury.

"We're not sure if it's just scar tissue from his hamstring or whether there's another problem there," Brown said.

"We couldn't afford to take the risk."

If Mullen has the same injury, it would almost certainly spell the end of his 2016 campaign.

The Knights have one win from 20 rounds.

Since the inaugural NRL season in 1998, South Sydney have the unwanted record for the least amount of wins in a year with three victories in 2003 and 2006.

The Knights have been ravaged by injuries and hooker Danny Levi appeared to struggle through Sunday's game with a back complaint which has to be operated on.

Levi was scheduled for surgery earlier this month however a rib injury to back-up hooker Tyler Randell left the club had no other hooking options and he was forced to play though the pain.

Levi is expected to undergo season-ending surgery when Randell returns in the next few weeks.