KNIGHTS coach Adam O'Brien is confident skipper Kalyn Ponga will be cleared to play against Canberra this week despite the sickening head knock he suffered in Sunday's 42-6 loss to Penrith.
Ponga was left spreadeagled on the turf and needed to be helped from the field after a desperate attempt to prevent a try by Panthers back-rower Viliame Kikau in the 15th minute.
He failed his head-injury assessment but returned to watch the rest of the match from the interchange bench.
It was the third time this season the Queensland Origin fullback has needed a HIA, although in games against Manly and Parramatta he was off the field for only 15 minutes.
He has required a host of HIAs throughout his career but is yet to miss a game through concussion.
O'Brien was optimistic that trend would continue and the 24-year-old would receive the green light to take on the Raiders in Sunday's must-win clash at Canberra Stadium.
"He's good actually," O'Brien said after Sunday's game. "I just spoke to him. He's fine."
Ponga faces a battery of neurological tests this week and a seven-day stand-down under the NRL's concussion policies.
"He'll do the protocols," O'Brien said.
"The seven days are pretty clear. I would have given him a rest for the next few days anyway, so we'll get on with it."
If Ponga is unable to prove he has recovered, Tex Hoy would appear his likely replacement.
Bench utility Kurt Mann filled the void against Penrith, but O'Brien said the preferred plan was to deploy the club's most versatile player as a back-up lock and hooker.
