Newcastle captain Andrew Johns is set to make his NRL return against South Sydney on Sunday, with Knights surgical specialist Neil Halpin declaring: "More likely than not, I think he'll play".

And in a further injury twist ahead of Next Friday's Anzac Test match, Benji Marshall has been warned he risks suffering further injury if he plays for more than an hour of the Suncorp Stadium encounter.

For the third time this season, betting markets for a Knights game were suspended following speculation Johns will be a late inclusion for the Telstra Stadium clash against the Rabbitohs.

Johns missed last weekend's heavy loss to Melbourne after the 31-year-old sustained an ankle injury against North Queensland in round six.

Halpin said the champion halfback was a good chance of playing after inspecting him on Friday.

"His ankle looked a lot better this morning, it wasn't as sore and the swelling had gone down," Halpin said.

"He was going to train on it today and see how it felt.

"Andrew is one of the great players of all time, he's been around for a long time and knows his body and knows if he's ok.

"More likely than not, I think he'll play."

The Knights issued a press release stating that Johns would train with the team on Saturday morning, with a final decision based on how well he pulled up afterwards.

Earlier this week the Knights named Jarrod Mullen at halfback, although Johns was keen for some game time before his representative swan song.

Meanwhile, Orthopaedic specialist Dr Des Bokor today cleared Marshall to play for the Kiwis providing he gets through a strict rehabilitation program next week, but advised him not to play for more than 60 minutes against the Kangaroos.

"I suggested that to him so he doesn't tire out," Bokor said.

"It's so that he plays limited minutes because as he gets tired he gets weaker and therefore more susceptible to injury."

Asked how long he recommended Marshall play, Bokor said: "It's somewhere between the 40 to 60 minute mark rather than the full 80."

While news of Marshall's availability is a massive boost for the Kiwis, coach Brian McClennan may need to carry an extra half on the interchange bench to accommodate the gun five-eighth.

Marshall dislocated his shoulder against North Queensland in round five, just five games after having it repaired over the summer.

The gifted playmaker has suffered five shoulder dislocations in his career.

Wests Tigers CEO Steve Noyce said the 21-year-old should be considered as an "interchange player" for the Test and confirmed he would not play for the premiers against Manly two days later.

Bokor said there was a good chance Marshall wouldn't need reconstructive surgery at the end of the year.

"We'll see how he responds one, to the therapy, and two, how he performs through the year.

"He's responded very well to the program, a lot quicker than we expected."

In other news, Paul Osborne, the NRL Agent Accreditation Scheme's chief operating officer, met with player managers to discuss the issue of player manager accreditation. Of the 11 player managers at the meeting all backed compulsory accreditation.

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