After losing star hooker recruit Jayden Brailey for the season after just two games following a knee reconstruction, coach Adam O'Brien is now faced with the prospect of not having utility Connor Watson for up to two months because of a serious ankle injury.

Watson will go in for surgery on Thursday morning to repair ligament damage in his right ankle after lasting less than nine minutes against the Penrith Panthers on Sunday at Campbelltown Stadium.

He started at hooker against the Panthers, prompting fans of the club to wonder out loud if the Knights No.9 jersey is cursed.

It was only two seasons ago the club's Kiwi international hooker Slade Griffin was forced to undergo a fourth knee reconstruction with the injury ending his career.

"We can't take a trick with our hookers at the moment," coach Adam O'Brien told the Newcastle Herald.

"Connor's got a syndesmosis and there's some ligament damage there that's going to need surgery. There is still some swelling there at the moment so he'll go in on Thursday morning and get it done and we'll lose him for six to eight weeks."

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The injury to Watson only emphasises the importance of the club's decision to sign ex-Brisbane Broncos hooker Andrew McCullough before the premiership resumed last weekend.

Without the experienced former Queensland Origin hooker to call on, O'Brien would now be contemplating having to rely on rookies Chris Randall and Luke Huth to handle the hooking duties between them. That would have been a massive ask.

"We're definitely fortunate the cards fell our way with McCullough,"O'Brien said.

"The reason we went after another hooker is for precisely the scenario we are faced with right now. He'll come in this week because I want to have a look at him and I'm sure he'll do a good job for us."

O'Brien is clearly erring on the side of caution with Randall given his rookie status after the enormous workload he shouldered against the Panthers last Sunday.

Expecting him to back that up with another similar effort two weeks in a row against a team like the Canberra Raiders may have been too much to ask.

O'Brien also appears to be taking no chances early in the season with backrower Lachlan Fitzgibbon despite scans clearing him of a hamstring tear.

Fitzgibbon felt a twinge in his hamstring during the captain's run last Saturday, 24 hours before the Penrith game and was ruled out.

His spot was taken by debutant Brodie Jones, who has again been named on the bench for the Raiders clash.