Brad Arthur has revealed that the return of one Leeds Rhinos player from a year-long injury layoff has been put on hold.
The Australian head coach today confirmed that second-rower Morgan Gannon has a minor Achilles problem and won’t figure in the Wetherby Whaler Festive Challenge against visitors Wakefield Trinity on Boxing Day.
The 21-year-old forward Gannon had been hoping for his first game time since a pre-season meeting with Hull KR on February 4, over 300 days ago.
He suffered a concussion in that match after suffering a similar setback last Boxing Day and was therefore subsequently stood down for the entire campaign.
“It has just flared up a little bit,” Arthur – speaking at his preview press conference today (Wednesday) – said of Gannon’s Achilles issue.
“Sometimes they can warm up and you can run them out, but it wasn’t warming up enough so we decided to pull him off legs for a week or two.”
Leeds Rhinos forward suffers setback after lengthy layoff
Credit: Ed Sykes/SWpix.com
Elaborating further on Gannon, Arthur confirmed: “He is back and he ran okay today, but it is probably too short a turnaround between now and the game to risk putting him out there.
“He’ll just get a little bit longer of training before he gets back on the field. It is disappointing for him, because he is probably desperate to get out there and play.”
On a positive note, Arthur confirmed Gannon is fully recovered from the concussions. He added: “He was going really good with his training.
“His contact was really good and there were no signs of him being cautious or overprotective of himself.
“He was getting in there and putting his head in there and he was being nice and physical, because we have had a pretty physical pre-season in the contact room.
“I like him, he has got a good level of skill and knows his way around the field well. He got thrown into Super League in different circumstances than most, but the pre-season he has done will help him.”
Full-back Lachie Miller and teenage forward Ben Littlewood are both ruled out of the Christmas fixture because of hamstring injuries, but Arthur confirmed prop Tom Holroyd is set to feature. He was restricted to just six games this year after suffering two separate concussions.
Brad Arthur spoke to the media this lunchtime and confirmed all five of his new signings will feature in the Wetherby Whaler Festive Challenge on Boxing Day at AMT Headingley pic.twitter.com/OLubzC99ZM
— Leeds Rhinos (@leedsrhinos) December 18, 2024
