Latrell Mitchell cops new blow as South Sydney coach Ben Hornby makes telling admission

Interim South Sydney coach Ben Hornby has provided a surprise update on Latrell Mitchell as a massive injury cloud hangs over the superstar fullback. The Rabbitohs need to win all five of their remaining games to have a chance of making the NRL finals and were hoping to have Mitchell back for round 24 after the fullback suffered a Lisfranc foot injury in the round 18 win over Parramatta.

However, Hornby has made the telling admission that the club is yet to make a decision on their representative star and whether he will return to the field this season. Mitchell has been wearing a moon boot on his injured foot and is set to undergo more scans once he’s out of it but it's understood the Rabbitohs are reluctant to risk the 27-year-old if they're out of finals contention.

Hornby's side play all of the top-three sides - starting with ladder-leaders Melbourne on Thursday night - and need to knock them all off. They also play games against the Wests Tigers and Newcastle. Mathematically, the Bunnies can still qualify for the finals but it would take something close to a miracle.

In a telling admission though, Hornby said he hadn't done all the calculations and "assumed" South Sydney's finals hopes were already dashed. In a further sign that Mitchell may have played his final game of the year for the Rabbitohs, Hornby revealed he is not planning for the fullback's return next week and is only focusing on Thursday night's do-or-die home game against the Storm at this stage.

“I don’t know where the mathematics are at, but I am assuming we can’t make it,” he said. “I’m not looking forward and thinking about next week, I am looking forward to this week. We just take each game as it comes. Each game is going to be a bigger challenge for us, and a great opportunity for us to go up against great players."

"We thought last week we went toe-to-toe with the Sharks for long periods. Our passes just didn’t hit the mark, so we weren’t good enough. I thought it was probably one of our better performances in the last month, but we’re playing a top-four side that are pretty much fully fit, so it makes it hard. But I’m just so happy with the boys, their effort.”

Souths welcome back Cody Walker amid desperate finals battle

Souths will be boosted by the return of veteran playmaker Cody Walker for their crunch showdown against the Storm, with Hornby confirming on Wednesday that he'd overcome a calf strain to take his place at No.7. The 15th-placed Rabbitohs are one of three teams - along with the Warriors and Brisbane - who need to win all their remaining games to have a mathematical chance of finishing in the top eight.

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Brisbane fit into the same category and would need wins in their last four games to go with one final bye to sneak into finals contention - but only if other results go their way. And the Warriors' predicament looks equally dire after being last year's fairytale team of the finals before slumping to 13th on the ladder this season.

Souths, Brisbane and the Warriors all face higher-ranked teams this weekend and could see their slim mathematical chances of finals footy dashed. Meantime, Gold Coast are the form side of the bottom half of the ladder, but could see their top-eight hopes all but extinguished with another loss.

The Titans face fourth-placed Cronulla on Friday night, and also play the Roosters in a fortnight but will likely come up against a depleted Penrith side in the last round in the likely event the defending premiers rest players before the finals. Newcastle's last month is arguably the easiest of any team hoping for a miracle, but they too risk having their season ended if the Wests Tigers upset them on Sunday.

with AAP