Wales have drafted St George Illawarra forward Tyson Frizell into their World Cup squad.
The Sydney-based second rower, who turned 22 on Wednesday, was initially ruled out through injury but coach Iestyn Harris kept a place open in his squad and included Frizell's name in the 24 that were submitted to organisers ahead of Wednesday's deadline.
Frizell, who made his debut for Wales against Ireland in 2011 and played in the subsequent Four Nations Series, missed last year's autumn international series through injury.
He has made 22 appearances for St George Illawarra this season and, if he does regain fitness, he will be Wales' only NRL representative.
"We were initially told that he was ruled out completely due to injury," said Harris. "But our head physiotherapist Ben Stirling has been in contact with his club in Sydney and they are now saying that his injury is recovering a lot quicker than they expected.
"They will know by next week whether he will be fit or not and, if it's positive news, then we'll be delighted to have him over here playing for Wales once again.
"His inclusion would mean that we will have 15 players in our side who have played at the highest level this season which would be the most we've had in many years."
Wales play a warm-up match against a Wales Rugby League Select XIII at Parc Eirias in Colwyn Bay on October 15 to prepare for their World Cup opener against Italy at the Millennium Stadium on October 26.
