Canterbury hope they'll have Josh Addo-Carr back after only a fortnight after the star winger was cleared of any fracture in his right shoulder.
Addo-Carr was rushed for scans on Saturday night after leaving CommBank Stadium with his arm in a brace following the Bulldogs' 26-8 loss to Parramatta.
Those scans cleared Addo-Carr of a break, but instead showed damage to his acromioclavicular (AC) joint.
The Bulldogs believe the flying winger will be grounded for between two and four weeks, and expect to have a clearer picture in coming days.
"Josh Addo-Carr has been cleared of any fracture," Bulldogs general manager Phil Gould said.
"He has a significant soft-tissue injury."
In more good news for Canterbury, Viliame Kikau was able to escape with a fine for dangerous contact on a kicking Dylan Brown.
Connor Tracey looms as the man most likely to fill Addo-Carr's boots in the Bulldogs' backline during the latter's absence.
Their most likely option would be to bring the former Cronulla utility on to the left wing, allowing Jacob Kiraz to stay at right centre.
Another option would be to hand Bronson Xerri his first NRL game since incurring his four-year ban for performance-enhancing drugs in 2019.
"Connor Tracey was our 18th man tonight and he’s ready to go," coach Cameron Ciraldo said on Saturday night.
"We’ve got a couple of guys there in reserve grade as well.
"It’s not ideal losing players, but we’re prepared for it."
Addo-Carr was injured in the seventh minute in a tackle from Bryce Cartwright, but played on until halftime in clear discomfort.
But Ciraldo said there had been no need to remove the NSW State of Origin winger from the field early.
"I didn’t know it was that bad until halftime," Ciraldo said.
"You’ve got to play injured sometimes. Everyone out there has played with injuries, and some are worse than others.
"For Foxx (Addo-Carr) to be able to get through to halftime is a massive testament to his courage and him putting the team first and setting a great example for the rest of the team."
The Bulldogs spent most of the match on the back foot, courageously defending their line for almost the entire first half.
Down 20-0, they eventually rallied to score two tries in the last 15 minutes of the match, before the Eels hit answered with another.
"I couldn't have been prouder of them. We were really tough, gritty," Ciraldo said.
"Killed ourselves at times with errors and penalties. I was really happy with the pre-season, the way they've come together, how hard they've worked.
"We're always going to be a little bit clunky in attack to start the season with a new team and new systems.
"Our attack will get better every week."
