Greg Inglis could be out of action for four weeks after injuring his troublesome left ankle in the NRL All Stars match on the Gold Coast on Saturday night.
The South Sydney superstar sustained the injury in the 69th minute, after crossing for the Indigenous side's fifth try of the game, and needed two trainers to assist him off the field.
Immediately after scoring, the Queensland and Australia representative was up and about, celebrating with his teammates and flexing his biceps for the camera.
But a few moments later the pain appeared to set in and he fell to the ground in a heap - and worryingly, it was the same ankle that tormented him last season.
The Rabbitohs kick off their 2012 campaign on Monday, March 5 against the Roosters at ANZ Stadium - but now their star centre is in serious danger of missing that match, and possibly more.
A forlorn-looking Inglis was spotted hobbling out of Skilled Park on crutches, with a moon boot on his left foot.
Indigenous All Stars coach Laurie Daley tried to play down the injury, but then confirmed the 25-year-old could be out for up to a month - or longer, depending on scans.
"I don't know at this stage but I'm assuming it's not going to be too bad," he said after his side's 36-28 loss to the NRL All Stars.
"It may be a month, or something like that, which in the scheme of things is pretty good, I would think."
"I think he thinks it's not too bad. He had a bit of a concern because it's the same ankle he injured last year."
"But until they get the scans, they probably won't know. He's pretty confident that it's not too serious."
Inglis' injury was the only sour part of an entertaining night of rugby league, and it was all in honour of the late Arthur Beetson, who died last December from a heart attack.
The first Indigenous Australian to captain his country in any sport, Beetson's memory helped put the result in perspective for the losing side.
North Queensland skipper Johnathan Thurston, also named as captain for the Indigenous All Stars, was naturally disappointed in the post-match press conference because of the loss.
But there was also a smile that he couldn't wipe off his face.
"Certainly we would have loved to have won the game, but there's a bigger picture here," he said.
"There's a big significance to this game. With the sad passing of Arthur, we wanted to win this game more than anything."
"It's not an Origin, you're not playing for your country, it's completely different. You're representing your culture."
"It's disappointing that we didn't, but you've got to look at the bigger picture - the community work that we're doing, everything that goes back towards the community."
"Everyone that's involved in this spectacle... I just feel an incredible amount of pride and I love playing in this match."