A Dragons spokesperson assured the Mercury Soward was in no danger of missing Sunday night's clash with South Sydney at WIN Jubilee Oval.

The club claims Soward has been carrying a corked calf and is "managing his workload" in the lead-up to the NRL finals series.

Captain Ben Hornby said he expected Soward to take the field on Sunday night.

"He just didn't want to risk an injury to it," Hornby said.

"He's just come off as a precaution."

Hornby has his own injury concern, with his hand strapped during yesterday's training session.

"My thumb has been a little sore," he said.

"I'm just taking it a little easy on it at the moment, so hopefully everything is right by the weekend."

If Soward is ruled out this weekend, former captain Mark Gasnier is the likely option to take over the goalkicking.

Soward and Hornby have been the halves combination in 49 of the Dragons' past 50 games.

Coach Wayne Bennett named an eight-man bench for Sunday night's match and Hornby admitted the Dragons had considered resting players for the Rabbitohs match.

The result is irrelevant for the Dragons, who will finish on top of the ladder whether they win or not.

The game could be crucial for Souths, who can still make the top eight if Canberra lose to Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium tonight.

Retiring hooker Luke Priddis is expected to be included in the Dragons team, while prop Jon Green, boom under 20s star Kyle Stanley and utility Nick Emmett trained yesterday.

Second-rower Beau Scott returns after two weeks out with hamstring and back problems.

Kiwi international Jeremy Smith has battled calf injuries this season, while prop Michael Weyman has hamstring soreness and an ongoing groin issue, but Hornby said the Dragons were not about to rest key personnel.

‘‘It was thought about a little bit,’’ he said.

‘‘But we want to go out there and still play well, we don’t want to get out of any rhythm at this stage.’’