Leigh Leopards have been dealt some positive news on the injury front this week, with boss Adrian Lam offering the latest update.
Following the side’s win over York Knights last week, a number of key players were left sweating over their fitness, including departing prop Robbie Mulhern.
The Castleford-bound man left the field following a back spasm against the Knights, and didn’t return. Lam said post-match that they would need to wait 72 hours for it to hopefully settle, and they will then decide if he played against the Rhinos.
Despite not training all week, Mulhern is “expected to play” against his former club, whilst forward partner Jack Hughes is another who will feature after missing out last week.
AJ Towse has been named in the 21-man squad for the first time since injury suffered against Hull FC back in May. However, Lam has confirmed that the York academy product will not feature this week, at least not for the first team.
The club are looking to find the winger a loan move, but only if the medical staff agree he is ready for a return. He confirmed to the press today [Wednesday]: “We’ve got to make a decision on that. He probably won’t play for us this week because he needs some time out.
“It’s whether or not we make a decision through S&C, Strength and Conditioning, and medical, whether we keep him for another week rather than loan him out and put him at risk. That decision will be made probably by tomorrow.”
Fellow winger Keanan Brand was expected to be back in contention for the trip to Leeds, but Lam revealed that the ex-Warrington man is still another week away.
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One man who again won’t feature this week is Lazarus Vaalepu, who spent last week on loan at Championship side Oldham.
Featuring in their 31-30 win over Sheffield, the former Melbourne Storm prop came off the bench in that game, and will stay at the Roughyeds for at least one more week.
“We’ve got a plan for him to get more minutes and get a little bit fitter through that conditioning.
“With us, he was only playing a small block before half-time… so he needs to obviously work harder and get some big minutes in there before anything further changes.”
