Canberra have been dealt a blow in the lead up to Saturday night’s semi-final against Penrith, with bench prop Clay Priest ruled out for the season with a broken ankle.

A Penrith junior, Priest injured his ankle at training on Wednesday night, and the club has already confirmed his season is over.

The 27-year-old has played 14 matches in a breakout year for the club this season, providing plenty of impact in averaging 10 metres per run off the bench.

The Raiders have plenty of options for his replacement.

Country Origin representative Paul Vaughan has spent the best part of the past two months in reserve grade, while Shaun Fensom has not been picked to play in the NRL since July.

Canberra will also wait until near kick-off before making a call on the fitness of key players Blake Austin and Josh Hodgson who are battling hand and ankle injuries.