Leeds Rhinos are sweating on the fitness of a key player ahead of tomorrow’s huge West Yorkshire derby at Wakefield Trinity.
Rhinos, who will go third in Super League and eight points clear of seventh-placed Trinity if they win, are already without injured pack men Mikolaj Oledzki, Tom Holroyd and Morgan Gannon.
And speaking at his weekly preview press conference today (Thursday) coach Brad Arthur revealed co-captain Cameron Smith is now in danger of missing the game.
Loose-forward Smith was among the substitutes in last week’s 42-6 win against Salford Red Devils. That was his ninth game since returning from a three-month layoff with an ankle injury.
Arthur said: “We are just waiting on Cam Smith. We will see how he gets through training today. We have got Ben Littlewood on standby.
“Cam has had some back tightness for a few weeks now and he has been managing it the best he can.
“It’s a bit stiff and we need to make sure he can do his job properly. We’ll see how he pulls up after training and make that call.”
Wakefield Trinity v Leeds Rhinos team news as home pack dented through injury and suspension
Australian outside-back Ethan Clark-Wood dropped out of Rhinos’ initial 21-man squad because of injury and could miss the rest of this season.
He joined Rhinos in February after winger Maika Sivo suffered knee damage sidelining him for the entire campaign, but has made only one first team appearance.
Arthur said: “He had a shoulder [injury] in collision last week at training. We are waiting for confirmation on exactly how long he’ll be out; he will be out for a while and it’s just whether it’s just rehab’ or if he needs an operation.”
Asked if Clark-Wood’s season could be over, Arthur admitted: “I would say so. It is disappointing for him.
“He packs up and moves to the other side of the world and his opportunities have been a bit limited.
“He was getting closer and training well, but unfortunately sometimes our game’s a bit cruel.
“It is all part of growing for these young guys and how they handle it and fight back from there.”
Clark-Wood is out of contract at the end of the season. A new deal hasn’t been ruled out, but Arthur admitted the setback “makes it hard”.
He said: “Bleasey [sporting director Ian Blease] will look through it all, but there’s rules in place on how many games you need to play to qualify and things like that.”
