Nearly a year since a torn anterior cruciate ligament prematurely ended his season, the Raiders prop is little more than 48 hours away from making his comeback to the NRL.

Sunday night's vital match against the St George Illawarra Dragons can't come soon enough for the former Kangaroos and NSW enforcer after he was forced to cool his heels for an extra week.

A small tear in his bicep meant the 31-year-old could only watch as the Raiders were humiliated 36-0 by the Gold Coast Titans.

The Skilled Park shemozzle came only a few days after the Raiders parted ways with star fullback Josh Dugan - a tumultuous period that White admitted had taken its toll.

''I think, as a squad, we underestimated the dramas of the week before,'' White said.

''Everyone seemed really good at training and everyone's attitude was really good, but unfortunately we didn't handle the hot weather up there and whether there was a few minds off football.

''[Coach] Furnsey's made it very clear this week that it's solely about what happens on the field. Everyone's really focused on Sunday.''

None more so than White.

The Raiders vice-captain hasn't been sighted in the top grade since rupturing his ACL in the round-five loss to the North Queensland Cowboys last year.

He trained side-by-side with Raiders captain Terry Campese, the pair completing their gruelling rehabilitation together as they recovered from the same injury.

Campese is scheduled to return from his knee reconstruction - the second in as many seasons - in a few weeks.

White returned for the Raiders' pre-season trial with the Bulldogs in Goulburn, but suffered a bicep tear while playing for Mounties in the NSW Cup two weeks ago.

He attempted to prove his fitness during the week, but the club's medical staff erred on the side of caution, not wanting to chance of another extended stint on the sidelines.

White has been included in the starting team in a sign of his importance to the Raiders' forward pack.

A veteran of three Tests and eight State of Origins, White featured in 23 of the Raiders' 24 games in his first season with the club in 2011 and was elevated to a leadership post last season.

White is off-contract at the end of this year, but his only focus is helping the Raiders recover from their worst start to a season since the club's foundation year in 1982.

''I've been busting to get out and play,'' he said.

''Body wise I feel really good, but there's nothing like game time.

''It's hard to get a gauge until you get out and see where you stand around everyone else.''