South Sydney forward Kyle Turner will this week find out whether he requires surgery on the neck injury he suffered in last month's NRL All Stars match on the Gold Coast.

While Turner is no chance of returning in time for Thursday night's season-opener against the Brisbane Broncos, club officials are hopeful the back-rower could be back within a month if he is given the all-clear by the doctors this week. There is a possibility he may require surgery on the protruding disc in his neck, which would mean the 23-year-old misses a large portion of this season.

Coach Michael Maguire was cautious to speculate over Turner's immediate future, treading carefully given the sensitive nature of neck injuries. "We're still following up from doctor's opinion and we will know more about Kyle during the week," Maguire said. "We're still wary of the concern, but we don't want to jump to any conclusion until we know exactly what lies ahead."

Turner, who was taken to hospital complaining of pins and needles in his arms and hands following a high shot from Paul Gallen, has resumed light duties at training but hasn't joined the rest of the squad in any contact work. It was initially feared the Coonabarabran junior's career would be in jeopardy, however Turner assured family and friends the injury wasn't as severe as originally reported.

He held out hope of returning for South Sydney's first match of their title defence, but still may yet face an indefinite absence from the game if he is required to go under the knife. While Turner was disappointed to miss the club's World Club Challenge triumph last week, Maguire said the Indigenous All Stars representative remains in good spirits.

"He's doing well," Maguire said. "He's got a great supportive group of players who have helped him get through the process. I know he was looking forward to round one but we have to make sure we go through all the necessary precautions. A lot of people have certain issues with the neck injuries at some stage through their careers, so we have to be careful until we know more this week."

There were extra concerns surrounding the health of Turner, who suffered four heavy concussions playing for the Rabbitohs last year, as well as another two head knocks playing NSW Cup at the end of 2013. Maguire insisted his previous concussions weren't related to the injury he suffered in the All Stars match.

"That's a completely different situation," Maguire said. "It has nothing to do with that. This is a separate issue."

Gallen has come under fire for the tackle that left Turner in a precarious state in just the fourth minute of Friday's match, however the Cronulla skipper escaped suspension.