Macdonald injured his foot attempting to score in his side’s 20-16 loss to the Tigers in round 18, with the injury slow to respond to treatment.

“No,” was coach Paul McGregor’s short answer when asked on Friday if Macdonald was any closer to returning.

“He’s definitely not playing this week and there’s a possibility he won’t play next week. We thought it was only going to be a week or two but it’s turned into a little bit more. With the injury he has, it can take a little bit of time so we’ve got to make sure that everyone who takes the field is healthy.”

McGregor also allayed fitness fears for Origin stars Jack de Belin and Tyson Frizell.

“Jack’s fine, he’s doing all contact at training,” he said.

“Tyson’s missed three of our last four games due to rest or minor injuries so he’ll be better for the run last week.”