The Canberra Raiders surge toward the top four has copped a blow with bench hooker Kurt Baptiste to be sidelined by a foot injury until just before finals.
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Baptiste has hit a purple patch of form but will miss five to six weeks with a mid foot sprain he suffered in Monday's 26-12 win over North Queensland Cowboys.
The off-contract 25-year-old had done his quest to secure a new deal no harm by making a huge impact off the bench in Canberra's six wins from its last seven games.
Coach Ricky Stuart's tactic in playing him at the same time with Josh Hodgson, who moves to a playmaking role, has caused opposition defences plenty of headaches.
The Raiders have a number of options with Knights recruit Adam Clydsdale, back-up half Sam Williams and emerging youngsters Lachlan Croker and Zac Woolford all potential candidates to take Baptiste's place.
Croker and Woolford starred in New South Wales under-20's convincing win over Queensland on Wednesday night.
Croker, the nephew of Raiders legend Jason, made his first grade debut in round two when Canberra's first choice halves Aidan Sezer and Blake Austin were injured.
Woolford is the son of former Raiders captain Simon and trained with the top squad when Hodgson was under an injury cloud earlier this season.