Whitehead missed the opening two rounds of the NRL season due to the injury, but returned to play the New Zealand Warriors in Christchurch last weekend.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said Whitehead was "touch and go" to play the Sharks, but they didn't want to risk doing any long-term damage this early in the season.

He said they were hopeful he'd be right for Parramatta next weekend.

"He did his calf the other day - it was a slight niggle, a slight strain - we just don't want to push him," Stuart said.

"He was touch and go this week so next week should be a lot better opportunity. We're hopeful, we're very hopeful."

It will see star Raiders recruit Zac Hosking slot straight into the second row, with Corey Horsburgh to come onto the bench.

Such was the Raiders' early season form, Horsburgh was forced to return through the NSW Cup after completing his four-game suspension from late last year.

The Raiders won't lose anything through Horsburgh's inclusion, with the 26-year-old making his State of Origin debut for Queensland last year.

He had made the Green Machine's No.13 jersey his own, but the arrival of England international Morgan Smithies helped keep him out of the side last weekend.

He'll now form part of Canberra's middle forward rotation to play either at prop or lock.

Hosking has been excellent since his arrival in the capital from Penrith - scoring two tries in his opening three games.

He's looked at home on the Raiders' right edge, deputising for the injured Whitehead.

"Zac just comes in and Corey comes onto the bench," Stuart said.

"I was going to give Corey another game in Cup just to get some minutes up, but he's back a week early - he was going to come back in against Parramatta next week, but he gets the opportunity to come back in a game early.

"He played really well in Cup last week so he'll be excited and ready to go."

Canberra has only lost one of their past 10 encounters with Cronulla - their round 27 clash at Shark Park last year.

The Raiders should be going in with plenty of confidence - not only because of Horsburgh's return, but also because they'll come up against a weakened Sharks forward pack.

They'll be without co-captain Dale Finucane (eye socket), Royce Hunt (calf) and Toby Rudolf (ankle), who were all injured in their heavy defeat by the Tigers, while they also have Braden Hamlin-Uele (knee) and Briton Nikora (suspended) unavailable.

But that just made Hosking even more wary of the wounded Sharks.

He felt they'd look to simplify their game plan accordingly, turning the game into a grind.

That was something Hosking admitted would be good for the Green Machine, having done exactly that over the opening three rounds.

"They're a team that can score points from anywhere, they've got strike all over the field," said.

"They do have some injuries in the forwards which probably makes them even more dangerous.

"It simplifies their game more which will be a bit more of a grind, which will be good because that's what we've done well in the first few rounds."

NRL ROUND 4

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Cronulla Sharks at Shark Park, 6.15pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Jordan Rapana, 2. James Schiller, 3. Matt Timoko, 4. Sebastian Kris, 5. Xavier Savage, 6. Ethan Strange, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Josh Papali'i, 9. Danny Levi, 10. Joe Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead (c), 13. Morgan Smithies. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Ata Mariota, 16. Zac Hosking, 17. Pasami Saulo. Reserves: 18. Kaeo Weekes, 19. Nick Cotric, 20. Trey Mooney, 21. Zac Woolford, 22. Corey Horsburgh.

Sharks squad: 1. Will Kennedy, 2. Sione Katoa, 3. Jesse Ramien, 4. Kayal Iro, 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo, 6. Braydon Trindall, 7. Nicho Hynes, 8. Tom Hazelton, 9. Blayke Brailey, 10. Oregon Kaufusi, 11. Siosifa Talakai, 12. Teig Wilton, 13. Cam McInnes (c). Interchange: 14. Daniel Atkinson, 15. Jack Williams, 16. Billy Burns, 17. Tuku Hau Tapuha. Reserves: 18. Jayden Berrell, 19. Blake Hosking, 20. Sam Stonestreet, 21. Niwhai Puru, 22. Max Bradbury.