Newcastle coach Rick Stone says a spate of pectoral muscle injuries in 2011 is no coincidence and believes NRL clubs need to look at ways to reduce the occurrence.

Knights star Jarrod Mullen suffered a badly torn pec in Saturday night's win over Parramatta and results of scans on Monday are expected to confirm he'll miss the rest of the season.

Pec tears were barely heard of a couple of seasons ago, yet Mullen is the seventh big name player this season to suffer significant damage.

Cameron King (Dragons), Cameron Ciraldo (Knights), Scott Geddes (Rabbitohs), Timana Tahu (Panthers), Joel Reddy (Eels), David Shillington (Raiders) and Mullen have all gone down and the usual recovery time is at least five-to-six months.

As he confronts the likelihood of trying to qualify for the finals without his top halfback, Stone admits the spike in pec tears is something clubs need to urgently address.

"I think it's a little more than coincidental to be honest, I think it's probably the physical preparation of the boys ... whether it's a lack of focus or flexibility in that area I'm not quite sure," Stone told AAP.

"It's an area that definitely gets tested when your arm gets put in different situations and gets loaded with some weight, I think it's something we definitely have to include in our pre-hab - which is trying to prevent injuries.

"There's a few head coaches and medical staff talking about the same sort of stuff at the same time."

Of the seven to have suffered a pec-related injury in 2011, Ciraldo returned on Saturday night after a nine-week recovery.

But with the other exception of Shillington, who hopes to be back after the State of Origin series, the rest will likely miss the season.

South Sydney doctor Andrew McDonald, with the Rabbitohs since 1996, recalls Geddes as only the third player he's treated with the injury.

He says the bigger players in the modern game is a contributing factor but the problem isn't necessarily related to an increase in the size of pectoral muscles.

It's generally a result of the greater impact force in defence.

"Typically it's when the muscles are contracting and then there's a violent force going in the opposite direction," said McDonald.

"So I think the bigger players get and the greater the velocity of the game, obviously the more force."

Stone confirmed captain Kurt Gidley, who shot back into State of Origin Blues contention on Saturday, is the most likely man to step into the No.7 jersey to replace Mullen.

Youngster Tyrone Roberts will also come into contention after he recovers from a short-term injury.

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