Canterbury has joined a growing list of NRL finals contenders to suffer a season-altering injury, with the club confirming star half-back Trent Hodkinson will miss the rest of the campaign.

Hodkinson was hit off the ball by Newcastle back rower Tariq Sims in the lead-up to Tim Lafai’s 25th-minute try in the Bulldogs’ 20-18 win over the Knights on Saturday night.

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The club said the New South Wales number seven had scans on Sunday morning that “revealed a dislocation of a bone in his wrist, with minor surgery required”.

The Bulldogs, currently sixth on the ladder, had already lost hooker Michael Lichaa for the year to a leg injury.

A handful of top-eight teams will have to overcome serious injury woes if they are to challenge for the title.

The ladder-leading Roosters are currently without prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and half-back Mitchell Pearce and second-placed Brisbane lost representative front rower Josh McGuire to a torn Achilles, while third-placed North Queensland will have to make its run without Michael Morgan and James Tamou.

Meanwhile, defending premiers South Sydney, currently seventh, lost captain Greg Inglis to a knee injury, stand-in skipper John Sutton to a broken leg and will be without hooker Issac Luke for the next two games due to suspension for a shoulder charge.