Burgess back for Brookvale battle

Rabbitohs officials are expecting Sam Burgess to return to the field just eleven days after sustaining what was initially feared as a horror neck injury.

After being cleared of any serious neck or spinal injury, Burgess is tipped to return to the training field on Thursday after his release from hospital on Tuesday, but is no chance of taking the field against Canterbury in the 'Good Friday classic' at ANZ Stadium.

The Bunnies take on Manly at Brookvale Oval next Thursday to open Round 5 of the NRL season, and coach Michael Maguire was optimistic yet cautious about the English international's return.

"He's good, he came out of hospital yesterday and I think they kept him in there for a longer period just to make sure he was okay," Maguire said.

The bigger concern will be over any mental scars left from the incident in Sunday's loss to the Dragons.

"It's hard to say, there's a lot of talk about it and we're talking about it now, but Sam will manage it the way he does every other bump that you get in rugby league," Maguire said.

Maguire went on to suggest Burgess would likely need to work on his technique where his head ducks as he attacks the line - a bad habit picked up in his short stint in Rugby Union back in the motherland.