Leeds Rhinos suffer pre-season injury blow with young star set for lengthy lay-off
Alfie Edgell in action for Leeds in 2024.
Leeds Rhinos face the prospect of being without young fullback Alfie Edgell for the start of the new Super League season after he suffered a fractured jaw in pre-season training.
Edgell was due to start for the Rhinos on Boxing Day against Wakefield Trinity in their traditional festive challenge, after impressing during the early stages of pre-season.
However, Leeds will now be without the 20-year-old for an undisclosed period of time after suffering a major blow. He picked up a jaw injury in training with surgery ultimately needed to fix the fracture.
With first-choice fullback Lachie Miller already getting injured earlier in pre-season, it leaves Brad Arthur facing a reshuffle of his backline for Boxing Day and potentially beyond.
“First and foremost we are really disappointed for Alfie,” Rhinos sporting director Ian Blease said. He has trained incredibly well during pre-season and we were all looking forward to seeing him start at full back on Boxing Day.
“It was a freakish accident in training and our medical staff have looked after Alfie, thankfully he was able to have surgery on Saturday to get the healing process started. At this stage, we are not certain on how long he will be sidelined for. I am sure he will come back from this set back and pick up where he has left off and we all wish him all the best for a speedy recovery.”
Without Edgell and Miller, it means that Jake Connor would now likely slot in at fullback on Boxing Day to make his unofficial Rhinos debut.
Edgell made his breakthrough for Leeds last year and impressed whenever called upon. Boxing Day represented a major chance for him to lay down an early marker in pre-season, but he will now be missing for an undisclosed period.
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