An eye injury almost led to his rugby league retirement, but Brisbane prop Josh McGuire can see a bright future after being cleared for a dramatic NRL return.

Just five weeks ago, the powerhouse forward feared the worst after undergoing a five-hour operation on a detached retina, following an accidental poke in the eye from Broncos' teammate Mitchell Dodds in a match against the Bulldogs.

At just 21, McGuire's NRL dream looked over when he struggled to make out shapes and colours.

But McGuire incredibly received the all clear from a specialist this week - much to the relief of Broncos' coach Anthony Griffin who is ecstatic for McGuire.

However, there is a more immediate concern for the Brisbane mentor after Kurt Baptiste (shoulder) on Thursday joined their long list of unavailable players for Friday's NRL away clash with Parramatta.

With six players in Queensland's Origin camp, Baptiste's injury was the last thing Griffin needed to hear.

That was until he received the good news from McGuire's specialist.

"Fortunately for us, he got a final clearance for his eye injury and he's going to come off the bench," Griffin said on Thursday.

"If Josh didn't get a clearance, we would have had to go to the Queensland Cup or under-20s to find someone.

"He (McGuire) has been like a cat on a hot tin roof waiting for the last two or three weeks.

"He will give us some energy from the bench."

McGuire will not be the only Bronco looking to make up for lost time against the Eels.

Andrew McCullough and Ben Hunt were dumped for last round's clash against South Sydney for disciplinary reasons.

The two 21-year-olds were banished to the Queensland Cup last weekend after being charged by police with being a public nuisance.

They had been refused entry to two Brisbane city hotels early last Saturday before they were approached by police.

"Obviously they are sorry for the position they put themselves and the team in, soyou would expect that they would add a bit of energy," Griffin said of the pair.

"But they are good guys. They are an important part of the team and our future and, hopefully, they can redeem themselves tomorrow night with a really big performance."

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