Manly coach Geoff Toovey will give Kieran Foran as much time as possible to prove his fitness for Monday’s NRL clash with Penrith, but he will not take the risk of playing him injured.

Foran is struggling to overcome a hamstring injury he picked up in the Sea Eagles’ surprise defeat to Parramatta and his absence against the Panthers would be a big blow for the premiers, who have lost their past three games.

Manly are already without the injured Glenn Stewart and Steve Matai and also the suspended Tony Williams.

Fullback Brett Stewart is battling a rib injury as well but Toovey is confident the representative fullback will be fit for the team’s first match at Brookvale this year.

“We’re not sure about Kieran. It’s not as bad as we first expected but we wouldn’t risk him if there’s any possibility of him further injuring his leg,” Toovey said on Thursday.

“We’ll give him as much time as possible to recover. It’s a small hamstring problem but we won’t risk him if he’s not 100 per cent.

“With those hamstring injuries, you’ve got to give them as much time as possible and we’ll assess him as late as we can.

“Brett should be fine – he’s got a little niggle injury but he should be OK.”

Both Foran and Stewart have been negotiating new contracts with the club, with the Kiwi playmaker believed to be close to agreeing to terms.

Toovey said he was hopeful the pair will put pen to paper soon, and admitted the unsettlement over certain players’ futures has affected the team’s form.

“It’s up to the players to make a decision and we’re hoping they make it soon and hopefully it’ll be good news for us,” he said.

“It can be a distraction, but with the amount of distractions we’ve had over the last few years, I think it’s a minor glitch.

“We started the year well, we’ve had a few injuries to some key players and some suspension which is taxing on us, but we believe we’ve got the team that can put in a great performance in our first home game at Brookvale.”