Man of Steel favourite Jake Connor is “nowhere near” being fit for Leeds Rhinos clash with Catalans Dragons tomorrow, coach Brad Arthur has revealed.
Speaking at his weekly preview press conference today (Wednesday), the team boss said Connor might have a chance of featuring against Wigan Warriors next week, but there’s no need to risk him just a week after he suffered damaged ribs in a defeat of Huddersfield Giants.
Jack Sinfield will take over at scrum-half against Catalans, when a win would seal Rhinos’ first top-four finish in Betfred Super League since 2017.
Connor has been Rhinos and the competition’s outstanding player this year, featuring in all Leeds’ 27 competitive fixtures and heading the Man of Steel leaderboard when it went secret in June.
Leeds Rhinos boss on Jake Connor
He is not in the squad for tomorrow and Arthur said: “He is a bit tender, his ribs. He has been in every game so it’s probably a good opportunity for us to sit him out.
“He wouldn’t have been able to do his job properly, we’ve got guys in the squad who have come in and done the job and we need to stick with that mentality.
Serious About Rugby League has launched a brand new podcast which can be watched in full on our YouTube channel here.
“We need guys close to full fitness and Jake’s nowhere near. It is a good opportunity for Sinny [Jack Sinfield] and the times he has stepped in he has done a really good job for us.
“We could have needled Jake up and got him through, but fortunately we don’t have to worry about it.”
Of the severity of the injury, Arthur revealed: “We didn’t even bother getting it scanned. Break, fracture, cartilage, it’s all the same – ribs are ribs.
“It’s a pain threshold thing – Ryan Hall’s had one, Ash Handley and a few of the boys have had them.
“You can needle them up and get them going in a week or some might be two weeks. We didn’t need to put him out there this week, we’ve got Sinny who’s capable of doing a very good job for us and we need to back the depth of our squad.”
Assessing Connor’s chances of facing Wigan, Arthur said he “could be” available, but stressed: “I just want to get through Thursday and see how we go, then we’ll reassess what we need to do next week.”
Teenager Presley Cassell, who has played in Rhinos’ last seven games, won’t feature tomorrow as fellow props Keenan Palasia and Tom Holroyd return from injury.
Arthur explained: “We’ve got a few forwards back this week and probably weren’t expecting him to play so many games back-to-back.
“He’s a young bloke and it’s tough in the middle. We’ve got our academy semi-final this weekend and it helps strengthen those guys and gives them a boost. It’ll just be good for him to take a bit of the physicality out of it for a week or two.”
Arthur also revealed co-captain Cameron Smith will undergo surgery next week to cure the back problem which has kept him out of Rhinos’ last six matches.
