He'll see the surgeon on Tuesday and is hoping to get the green light to return to full contact training.

And he could be back playing within two or three weeks after that - meaning a return a few weeks before the NRL finals isn't out of the question.

It's a massive boost, not just for Soliola, but for the Green Machine as they look to build some momentum over the final five rounds.

A win against the Canterbury Bulldogs at Canberra Stadium on Sunday could seal their spot in the finals.

Soliola suffered a Le Fort fracture in the Raiders' round-eight victory over St George Illawarra, with the Green Machine fearing the worst and expecting the 34-year-old's season to be over.

But he's back training with the main group and was hopeful a return to contact was around the corner.

Along with a final visit to the surgeon to hopefully get cleared to play after that.

"For two weeks now I've been in everything other than full hardcore contact," Soliola said.

"It's been good progress - way better than when I did my cheekbone.

"I'll get a clear indication on Tuesday when I see the surgeon again.

"He'll probably give me a green light on the next two-to-three weeks on a return date. Fingers crossed on that one."

Soliola's off contract at the end of the season, but Raiders chief executive Don Furner has vowed to keep a spot for the veteran next year until the 2020 salary cap has been finalised.

His old English Super League club St Helens has sounded him out about a possible return, just as his former Saints teammate James Graham has done.

But Soliola said the current coronavirus climate meant it wasn't the best option and he has his heart set on staying in Canberra.

He said it wasn't ideal to be out injured as he approached the back end of his career and once he's back out on the field it should help discussions proceed - although it's believed his manager will be in Canberra next week and things could progress even faster than Soliola's recovery.

"Given the current climate that we're in at the moment it's very hard to move the family over [to England] given the fact we don't really know what's happening," he said.

"Ideally I'd like to stay here. Ideally I'd like to be playing and having these discussions ... if I get back playing pretty soon hopefully it will make things a lot easier to get the ball rolling."

Soliola might still be on the road to recovery, but even he's taken on board the defensive mantra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has had this week.

Stuart was unhappy with some of the efforts in the 36-16 victory over the Gold Coast Titans last week and has put it on the squad to fix that over the final five rounds.

"Ricky's come out and said we have to be better defensively so I daresay the boys have really tried to polish up those areas because there were parts in that game on the weekend that weren't up to the standard we need to be if we're going to have a real crack at the back end of the year," Soliola said.

"There's little parts in the game we still can't accept as a group."

NRL ROUND 16

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Canterbury Bulldogs at Canberra Stadium, 6.30pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Jordan Rapana, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Curtis Scott, 5. Nick Cotric, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. George Williams, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Siliva Havili, 10. Dunamis Lui, 11. John Bateman, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Hudson Young. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Joe Tapine, 16. Ryan Sutton, 17. Matt Timoko. Reserves: 18. Sam Williams, 19. Harley Smith-Shields, 20. Kai O'Donnell, 21. Matt Frawley.

Bulldogs squad: 1. Will Hopoate, 2. Nick Meaney, 3. Marcelo Montoya, 4. Kerrod Holland, 5. Dallin Watene Zelezniak, 6. Kieran Foran, 7. Lachlan Lewis, 8. Ofahiki Ogden, 9. Jeremy Marshall-King, 10. Dylan Napa, 11. Josh Jackson, 12. Raymond Faitala-Mariner, 13. Aiden Tolman. Interchange: 14. Sione Katoa, 15. Renouf To'omaga, 16. Dean Britt, 17. Matthew Doorey. Reserves: 19. Luke Thompson, 20. Jack Cogger, 21. Reimis Smith, 22. Tim Lafai.