Kangaroos captain Isaah Yeo has been ruled out of the second Ashes Test through concussion with Panthers teammate Lindsay Smith looming as the likely replacement.
The setback comes amid amazing television figures which revealed nearly one million UK fans watched the first Test at Wembley.
Tour vice-captain Harry Grant will assume the Kangaroos captaincy.
Yeo came off in the ninth minute of Saturday’s first Test with a category one concussion.
Australian training staff are closely monitoring Yeo’s health but the Penrith champion has been omitted from the Liverpool Test.
Yeo will follow concussion protocols and only complete light work for most of this week.
Under NRL rules, he would be stood down for 11 days.
The Australian coaching staff hasn’t engaged in any in-depth discussions around a replacement but Smith is set to join the top 17 squad.
Smith’s possible inclusion would allow coach Kevin Walters to replace a middle with another middle.
It is likely that Smith would come onto the bench with Lindsay Collins to start in the front-row and Pat Carrigan dropping back to play lock.
Canterbury’s Jake Preston will also be considered but he is an edge forward.
Canberra’s Hudson Young could be moved into the middle but that switch is highly unlikely.
Meanwhile the first Test, aired on BBC One, had an average audience of 818,000 in England – a 14.2 per cent audience share.
The game was watched by nearly one million people through a peak audience of 930,000 viewers and a Wembley crowd of more than 60,000 fans.