Taane Milne will be able to wipe out almost his entire six-match NRL ban at the World Cup after South Sydney were granted approval to count the tournament towards his suspension.
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Milne was handed the mammoth punishment for his reckless high tackle on Penrith's Spencer Leniu in the Rabbitohs' preliminary-final loss last month.
The incident prompted a furious Leniu to attempt to continue the stoush on the sideline, after Milne was sent off for the hit late in the loss.
The winger's ban was the harshest handed down for a high tackle in more than a year, dating back to Latrell Mitchell's controversial suspension late in 2021.
But it will now only have a minimal impact on Souths.
NRL judiciary chairman Geoff Bellew has approved an application for Milne's first four games of the ban to be taken in Fiji's World Cup campaign, after he played for the nation during the mid-year Tests.
That allowance takes into account the Bati's warm-up game against England, as well as their group matches against Australia, Italy and Scotland.
As things stand, Milne will be able to return in round three of next year for the Rabbitohs.
If Fiji progress out of the group stage, Souths can apply to have the World Cup finals matches also counted as part of Milne's ban.
In effect, it means that if the secondary application is approved and Fiji reach the semi-finals, Milne's entire ban could be served at the World Cup.
Milne's allowance comes after the NRL previously approved Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Lindsay Collins and Jason Taumalolo to each serve bans in the World Cup.
Waerea-Hargraves will miss New Zealand's first two matches of the tournament after already sitting out their warm-up game, while Taumalolo faces a similar situation for Tonga.
Collins will miss Australia's opener against Fiji, after previously having the Prime Ministers' XIII game counted towards his ban from the NRL season.
That trio's allowances differed from Milne's in that they were each named in their nation's World Cup squads despite the suspensions.
In the case of Milne, his longer ban meant he was entirely overlooked by Fiji given he would only have been available for the final had the Bati qualified.
However, Bellew agreed with the Rabbitohs' argument that the 27-year-old would have been picked if not for the suspension.
Australian Associated Press
