Shane Flanagan anticipates that Loko Pasifiki Tonga will be back on the field within weeks following a concerning incident during training.
The St George Illawarra forward was taken away in an ambulance after injuring his neck during a tackle at Thursday's training session, but he has since been cleared of any major injuries.
Although Pasifiki Tonga is not expected to participate in the reserve grade match against Parramatta as initially scheduled, coach Flanagan feels optimistic about his recovery so far.
"He's fine, he's back doing some rehab running today. He's a bit sore but he'll be OK. We'll just reassess him next week," he stated.
"We're lucky that there's no damage and he'll be right in the next week or two."
In addition, back-up hooker Jacob Liddle is set to make his season debut against the Eels after recovering from a hamstring injury. He was one of the standout players for the Dragons last year.
"Jacob will bring some energy. I don't expect him to play huge minutes tomorrow," Flanagan remarked.
"It was a pretty nasty injury but he's well and truly over that."
The Red V has yet to secure a win in two rounds, but they managed to push Canterbury to extra time in Las Vegas and were in the lead against the reigning runners-up, Melbourne, after an hour last week.