The Melbourne Rebels are confident Sean McMahon won’t be sidelined for long after the star flanker was cleared of a serious hip injury.

Work-horse McMahon suffered the injury midway through the first half of their surprise one-point Super Rugby win over the fancied Chiefs at AAMI Park on Saturday night.

The young Wallaby tried to play on and showed his courage to pull down a Chiefs player who had the line in sight, but he collapsed in pain and needed to be assisted from the field in the 30th minute.

The good news was that the 20-year-old didn’t require hospital treatment with the Rebels hopeful he may even be fit for their Friday night home clash with the Blues.

“The initial assessment is that it’s nothing serious,” a Rebels spokesman said on Sunday.

“We think it’s just a nasty knock but will know more on Monday or Tuesday.”

The 16-15 win over the dual Super Rugby champions equalled their best-ever season performance with six rounds still to play and put the Rebels in 10th on the competition ladder.

However a maiden position in the finals remains a long shot with a tough trip to South Africa to face the Stormers and Sharks still ahead.

In a physical confrontation with the Chiefs, Rebels coach Tony McGahan hailed his team’s patience and improved discipline this season, led by captain Scott Higginbotham.

The Wallaby backrower finished last season as the most penalised player in the competition, but he and the team had worked hard on the problem.

Against the Chiefs they conceded just seven penalties – half their opponents’ total while the Chiefs also had two yellow cards.

“I thought our discipline was excellent and we’ve been excellent all year,” McGahan said.

“We’re averaging about eight penalties a game which is a good number to have.”