He has battled back from three season-ending injuries since 2010 but Canberra Raiders skipper Terry Campese begins the next fight to save his NRL career on Saturday.

Campese has passed a fitness test on his injured abdominal muscle and has fulfilled his promise to make himself available to play NSW Cup and improve his form.

In limbo: Terry Campese training this week. Credit:Jay Cronan

Instead of leading the Raiders out for Sunday's wooden spoon play-off against Cronulla, Campese has been relegated to play for Canberra's Sydney-based feeder team, Mounties, against top-of-the-table Penrith at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday afternoon.

As reported by Fairfax Media on Tuesday, Campese was considered fit for NRL selection this week but was effectively dropped by coach Ricky Stuart.