Leeds Rhinos injury update including 6 stars with fresh double blow but centre nearing return

Leeds Rhinos head coach Rohan Smith has provided a comprehensive injury update including six different players, with Harry Newman nearing a return but both Riley Lumb & Brodie Croft now sidelined.

Lumb and Croft were both forced off at Headingley last weekend as the Rhinos thumped London Broncos 46-8, with the latter crossing for a try prior to his departure from the Round 10 clash.

Homegrown ace Newman meanwhile has missed the Rhinos’ last two games with a back issue, last featuring in their Round 8 defeat at home against Huddersfield Giants.

Leeds’ absentee tally still stands in double figures, though with Newman potentially returning for Saturday’s trip to Catalans Dragons, that may not be the case for much longer.

Leeds Rhinos injury update including 6 stars with fresh double blow but centre nearing return

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Rhinos boss Smith detailed: “Lumby’s done a decent hamstring.

“He’s going to see a consultant to see whether surgery will be required, but it will be a lengthy lay-off either way.

“Brodie has a minor groin issue that’ll keep him out of this weekend’s game, but he’ll most likely return after the break (for the Challenge Cup semi-finals).

“Harry’s trained yesterday, he’s had a good run around. We’ve got no training today so we’ll see how he is tomorrow, get through that morning session and then make an assessment about whether he’s going to be right to travel.

“He’s progressing well, it’s just a matter of going through the stages and working out whether he’s going to be ready to play.”

Paul Momirovski also missed the win against London with an ankle issue, and the club now have a firmer idea of his prognosis.

Smith added: “Paul will be sort of a four-to-six week type injury. He’s healing really well as he speculated that he might.

“The physios are happy with his progress so far, but he’ll be in a boot for a bit longer and then we’ll start the rehab process.”

Rohan Smith discusses duo ruled out by concussion

Among the long list of Rhinos absentees are Tom Holroyd and James Bentley, both of whom have been missing long-term having suffered with concussion issues following failed HIA’s.

Bentley’s absence has been particularly notable, not being able to feature at all since the end of April, and as Smith revealed, he still has some way to go until he will be able to return to the field.

He continued: “Tom Holroyd will likely progress back for the St Helens match in a couple of weeks, James Bentley has got two months to go, I think off the top of my head.

“I don’t know the exact date, but early July is when we’re looking at the return for James. With all injuries, healing and recovery is number one, and that’s certainly the case for concussion because you only get one chance of having a healthy and happy brain.

“He’s had multiple concussions in a relatively small window of time, and some of those have resulted in significant symptoms, so we’re more than happy to respect that process and support James back to full health first.

“He’s made some really good progress in the last week or two training wise, and he’s got his health back, so it’s a matter of going through the healing stages and building it up to perform as we go through the next little while.

“It’s disappointing for everyone, but the medical staff and the management team are all 100% committed towards doing what’s right for the player, both in terms of short-term and long-term health when it comes to concussion.”