Adrian Lam provides Leigh Leopards injury update amid two fresh concerns

Leigh Leopards took another huge step towards securing a play-off place on Friday night as they saw off Castleford Tigers at Wheldon Road.

The Leopards recorded a 34-12 win over Craig Lingard’s side and that was enough to take them up to fourth in the table with just two more rounds of fixtures left to play.

However, it seems the win came at a price, with Leigh losing Umyla Hanley during the first half in West Yorkshire. Hanley could be seen limping out of the action with appeared to be a back issue and he didn’t return to the field, with Adrian Lam having to get creative in how he covered the centre position.

Lam has moved to allay fears of a long-term issue, though, with the head coach confirming Hanley’s issue is a minor one.

“With Umyla, it’s a bit of a nerve thing through his back. We’ll just have to check out what that is as soon as we can look over it,” Lam said after the game. “He lost a bit of power, so he couldn’t get back with speed and he couldn’t get forward with speed. It was a precautionary move to get him off, and he probably could have gone on at a pinch towards the end (of the game).

“I don’t know if that’s 100% correct, but I made a decision not to even think about putting him back on with what’s left of the season. When you play a team like Warrington last week and the intensity is really high, you usually get a bit of a kick back the following week with soft tissue stuff.

“We were just wary of that tonight, so anyone that carried that into the game, we made changes with as soon as we could.”

Leigh were also without talismanic hooker Edwin Ipape at Castleford, with the Papa New Guinean not travelling with the squad. His absence at a pivotal period will have been a cause for concern with Leigh supporters, but Lam expects him to be available for Leigh’s home game against Hull KR next Friday night.

“Edwin’s just had a bit of a sore shoulder on a point,” the Leigh Leopards boss added.

“It wasn’t worth coming here and risking him with what’s left of the season, but that won’t be an issue. Edwin will be right next week.”