Warriors coach Stephen Kearney confirmed hooker Nathaniel Roache will have scans to determine whether he has suffered a season-ending ACL injury.
Roache picked up the injury in the second half of the Warriors' 19-18 NRL defeat to the Panthers on Sunday, as he attempted to sidestep Penrith fullback Dylan Edwards.
The 23-year-old managed to hobble off the field, but Kearney fears the worst for Roache, who is highly rated around the club.
"We have got an orthopaedic surgeon in the dressing room and two very experienced doctors, and they are saying, potentially, it's a ACL," said Kearney.
"We won't know exactly, until we have had scans done of it."
The injury means Issac Luke will likely be recalled into the Warriors line-up for next weekend's match against the Newcastle Knights.
If the worst news is confirmed, it will be the latest in a growing list of series injuries for Roache, who overcame a torn Achilles tendon in 2017 and sat out the entire 2018 season, after back surgery.
He has also battled through hamstring injuries.
Overall, injuries have limited Roache to just 26 NRL games, since his 2016 debut.
"It is a big blow for Nathaniel," Kearney added. "He can't catch a break."
Kearney was in a bad mood, after watching his team blow a 16-6 lead in the second half at Mt Smart Stadium.
The result was the Warriors' fifth consecutive loss at Mt Smart - their worst run at home since 2005.
Late in the contest, the Warriors led by four, but missed tackles from Patrick Herbert and David Fusitu'a let Brent Naden through for a try and the visitors took the lead, when James Maloney slotted the conversion.
The Warriors then forced golden point with a penalty goal in the dying stages, but Maloney returned to haunt his former team with a field goal in the 84th minute.
Kearney called out Herbert and wing Fusitu'a for their sloppiness with the game on the line.
"We got a reminder that when the moment presents itself for you, you have got to get it done," Kearney said.
"In the back end, we had a couple of fellas that didn't do it, in terms of a missed tackle.
"Reality is with two-and-a-half minutes to go, we were still ahead and if we got our assignments done, got our jobs done, then potentially I wouldn't be as disappointed as I am now.
"We got to golden point, but I thought with two-and-a-half minutes to go, we could have nailed it."
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