St George Illawarra star Trent Merrin is facing a stint on the sidelines after suffering a shoulder injury for NSW in State of Origin III.

Merrin turned up at the Blues’ public reception in Sydney on Thursday with an arm in a sling, with Dragons staff believing he’s suffered a grade-two injury to his AC joint.

The bustling lock will have scans on Friday and could miss anywhere from one to four matches.

The good news is the Dragons enjoy the bye this weekend.

Asked if he felt the injury was serious, Merrin said he didn’t think so but would have to defer to scan results.

In other Dragons injury news, winger Brett Morris says he’s shooting for a return from a shoulder injury in the Dragons’ first match after the bye against Manly on July 21.

Morris says the dislocated shoulder he suffered in Origin I – when he heroically played on in a match-winning performance for NSW – has healed faster than first expected.

“The shoulder is coming along alright so, hopefully, not too much longer on the sidelines,” he said.

“I’m hoping to play the Manly game which is in two weeks’ time. There’s no rush though. The boys are playing some good footy at the moment and winning games so I can make sure, when I do come back, the shoulder is 100 per cent.”